Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett exchanged verbal blows, against the backdrop of a security cabinet decision to postpone a vote, on annexing a major Jewish settlement in the West Bank called Ma’ale Adumim, until after the anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, which is scheduled to take place next month. Minister Bennett, however, who promotes the bill, titled “Ma’ale Adumim first”, urges Prime Minister Netanyahu to face the historic decision, and choose whether he desires to see sovereignty implemented to the whole land from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea, or rather see the establishment of a Palestinian state.
During a meeting of his Jewish Home faction, Bennett called on Prime Minister Netanyahu not to “miss the opportunity that comes once in 50 years.” In response to Bennett’s call, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a faction meeting of his ruling Likud party, said that the Jewish state “faces great opportunities that are significant for the future and security of the country, which requires of Israel’s leadership responsibility and judgement, so that we do not miss the hour or the opportunities.
Netanyahu warned that it was “no time for shooting from the hip, no time for dictates and no time for surprises,” rather it was time for responsible and judicious diplomacy with friends, diplomacy that will strengthen the cooperation between Israel’s leadership and the trust between the Israeli government and the new administration in Washington.