Opinion
Let settlers come home
Ami Ayalon
Published: 06.01.14, 09:58
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17 Talkbacks for this article
1. Makes No Sense At All
EGGM ,   Petah Tikva, Israel   (01.06.14)
Aside from the patronizing tone of Ayalon toward the Jordan Valley residents, his logical argument makes absolutely no sense. If Israel annexes the Jordan Valley it means that its residents can't move to other parts of Israel if they so wish? Where did he come up with that idea? The demographic argument is also strange: the Jordan Valley has a clear Jewish majority (excluding Jericho), not any less than "Israel proper". How would annexing it hurt the Jewish majority of Israel? It appears that Ayalon has spent so much time at sea that he doesn't see a problem with the Arabs pushing us there. At least that's a more logical conclusion than he presents in this article.
2. #1 Arrogance and more arrogance
Cynic #2   (01.06.14)
Time will show that you Israelis are a victim of your own arrogance. You'll never learn the dynamics of the Middle East. Better make a deal with the Palestinians now else it will be too late to cry wolf wolf.
3. Internationalize the Jordan valley
Zechariah   (01.06.14)
The Jordan valley ought be internationalized by Skillful courageous and committed soldiers determined to block Islamic Jihadi The Fatah Baath Torturers and the PsychoSuicideMurderers.
4. As long as they leave
Dan   (01.06.14)
Who cares if they want to think they're heroes, though in fact they almost destroyed Israel? They can think what they like as long as they leave the West Bank and stop holding the country to ransom.
5. What kind of nonsense is this
Rod ,   Fargo N.Dakota   (01.06.14)
Nice headline let them come home.What paternalistic double talk is this?If they wanted to return to whatever place Ayalon calls their home they could,obviously unlike Ayalon they consider where they live home
6. Lies...
(01.06.14)
What survey are you seeing that "The future of the rest of the settlers will be decided as part of the negotiations, and most of them, according to the same survey, are interested in returning as part of an agreement. " Here you lost all legitamacy. Clearly this is a lie and YNet has no right to publish these lies. Shame on the author for lying to the reader and shame on Ynet for Knowing this is a lie and still publishing it.
7. They are home
Zev ,   Israel   (01.06.14)
They are more at home in the Jordan Valley than they would be in Tel Aviv.
8. Remember Gaza, Hamas, and Gush Katif
sg ,   teaneck   (01.06.14)
9. Natives wrongly called "Settlers" are home in Jordan Valley.
Steve Benassi ,   Silver Bay, MN USA   (01.06.14)
10. Ayalon's position is correct, although
On the Balcony   (01.07.14)
incompletely stated here. The security fence created Israel's international borders close to the 1967 borders. The existenceof the fence goes a long way towards satisfying UNSCR242. No objective security concerns can support it's thrust of long "fingers" to protect settlements deep in occupied territory. Those fingers clearly create more security risks than they prevent. Settlements such as Ariel therefore are not and likely never will be recognized as part of the modern State of Israel. It is time to bring those settlers home.
11. #6 Speaking of lies... and opinions
On the Balcony   (01.07.14)
For anyone who has done the research: It is a lie that Palestine under the Mandate was supposed to be a Jewish State It is a lie that 77% of the Jewish Homeland was ceded to create Jordan; It is a lie that Palestinian Arabs have no legitimate rights to the land they reside on It is a lie that the settlements in the occupied territories are legal But you and others happily recite such lies over and over again - and Ynet prints them. However, Ayalon is not lying, merely reporting the results of a poll his group took and expressing an opinion he formed during a lifetime of service dedicated to the protection of Israel and its citizens.
12. Obviously Ayalon's home is also somewhere else: GO THERE!
tom ,   tel aviv   (01.07.14)
13. This is the SAME Ami Ayalon that just denied Prof. Aumann
Prof. Steven Plaut ,   Haifa   (01.07.14)
This is the SAME Ami Ayalon that just denied Prof. Aumann an honorary PhD at Haifa University because of Aumann's thought crimes of disagreeing with the ultra-Left
14. Ayalon's remarks are racist
Daniel ,   TA - IL   (01.07.14)
why does he tell a child who is the fourth generation that he should leave his home to satisfy leftism? By the way the same question can be posed to any lefty, most of whom want to give rights to first generation inflitrators but deny the same rights to jews who are already living for 4 generations in judea and samaria! How leftist, how racist
15. TO # 11 - HOW DO YOU DARE...
FO ,   Belgium   (01.07.14)
How do you dare to lie to the public in such a blunt way, and have the cheek to pretend it is based on research! You claim: "It is lie that Palestine under the Mandate was supposed to be a Jewish State". False! The definition of the Mandates A, B and C were defined at the Peace Conference in Paris in 1919.The difference between the three Mandates is the subject of Article 22 of the Treaty of the League of Nations. Three territories belonged to A Class Mandates: Palestine (the Jewish National Home), Iraq and Syria-Lebanon. And what says Article 22 about the A Class Mandates? An A Class Mandate territory is considered advanced enough politically and economically that a provisional independence could be granted, albeit under the administrative control of a member state of the League of Nations - "subject to the rendering of ADMINISTRATIVE ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone". By the way, Iraq became already independent in 1932!!! The Mandate for Palestine, voted unanimously by all its 51 members in 1922 stated in its Preamble: "Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country". “National Home” being considered in accordance with Article 22 as a potential independence. You claim: "It is a lie that 77% of the Jewish Homeland was ceded to create Jordan". Well: the day the League voted the Mandate for Palestine (24th of July 1922) the British delegate proposed, and was accepted that (what became Article 25 of the Mandate) "In the territories lying between the Jordan (river) and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined (77% of the Jewish National Home), the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold (there was never question of annulment) application of such provisions of the mandate he may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions..." You claim: "It is a lie that Palestinians have no legitimate rights to the land they reside on". Well: In the Preamble of the "Mandate for Palestine", the Council of the League of Nations states being in favour of: " The establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights (no question of political rights) of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." You claim: "It is a lie that the settlements in the occupied territories are legal. Well: As the Mandate for Palestine gave the Jews the Irrevocable Right to settle at least between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, including the Golan Heights, this decision became International Law, and was reaffirmed by Article 80 of the United Nations Charter when the League ceased to exist and was taken over by the UN. So, by law, the settlements are legal! I hope that if Ynet was ready to print your post, they will be ready to print the above historical and legal facts, that all of you, dear readers can consult on Internet for their veracity.
16. hey Ami Ayalon
Bluegrass Picker ,   Afula   (01.07.14)
when you go to San Diego later this month... please stay there.
17. #15 Truth or dare? They are the same here.
On the Balcony   (01.08.14)
Telling the truth is daring to call a lie a lie. You parrot falsehoods based on a blind acceptance of myth, misrepresentations and spurious legal arguments. You dismiss or ignore: - the Churchill White Paper, which informed the League of Nations' vote on the Mandate. Accepted by Weizmann, it splits off what will become Jordan and explicitly states that Palestine is NOT intended to become a Jewish State. It cannot honestly be dismissed or ignored. - the 1947 UNSCOP report exploring the mandate’s history and proposing a Partition Plan giving far more mandate territory to the then resident Palestinian Arabs than returning the occupied territories will. And you claim that the land was "irrevocably" given to us? Israel accepted the Partition Plan –even after it was rejected by the Arabs. It cannot honestly be dismissed or ignored. - the unclassified 1967 secret report of , former Israeli legal counsel Theodor Meron. Meron advised the Government of Israel –before a single settlement was built-- that building civilian settlement in the occupied territories would violate the Geneva Convention. It cannot honestly be dismissed or ignored. - decades of unanimous UN Security Council Resolutions like UNSCR465 condemning settlements as “flagrant” violations of international law. It cannot honestly be dismissed or ignored. Do some real research and you too will have to choose between silence, telling the truth or knowingly repeating lies. I remained silent for a long time. But silence too is a form of lying. Welcome to the truth; it honestly cannot be dismissed or ignored.
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