Tel-Chai Nation

In another positive sign, the Trump administration's indicated they understand the importance and validity of Judea/Samaria as Israeli land by birthright, and its importance in defense for the country too:

The Trump administration understands the need for Israel to have "overriding security control" in the West Bank in any future peace deal with the Palestinians, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said on Tuesday.

Friedman is part of a White House team spearheading a still-secret Israeli-Palestinian peace plan that Washington has said will be unveiled after Israel's election on April 9.

Palestinians have called any peace proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump a non-starter.

Addressing a convention of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC in Washington, Friedman gave no details of the U.S. blueprint. But he appeared to suggest it was in Israel's best interests to engage now on the deal, while the United States has a president sympathetic to its security concerns.

"Can we leave this to an administration that may not understand the existential risk to Israel if Judea and Samaria are overcome by terrorists in the manner that befell the Gaza Strip after the IDF withdrew from this territory?" Friedman said.

Friedman, who used the biblical terms for the West Bank, was referring to the 2005 pullout of Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza, the coastal enclave seized by Hamas terrorists two years later in a brief yet bloody war with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' rival Fatah movement.

Gaza's being Israeli territory also needs to be taken into consideration. I think what Friedman's told is a good omen, and the PLO's clearly rejected the US administration anyway. This could be another positive development for Israel.

Update: here's the transcript of Friedman's speech on The Jewish Press.

Update 2: also of interest is Mike Pompeo's speech, in the following video (via Power Line):

Labels: islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Knesset, terrorism, United States, war on terror, White House