Netanyahu: Elections needed to safeguard Golan Heights

'God willing, in the upcoming elections we will ensure (Israel's) sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Golan,' opposition leader says

Ynet
Published: 05.29.08, 19:46 / Israel News

"I believe that the way to protect the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley is to go to early elections," Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

Speaking at a Likud party event held in the Golan, Netanyahu said that "God willing, in the upcoming elections we will ensure (Israel's) sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Golan.

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"What do you find when you dig (into the soil) in the Golan? Syrian ruins? No. You'll find dozens of magnificent synagogues and remnants of (Jewish) communities," he said. "The Israeli nation has been connected to the Golan for thousands of years. The Golan always was and always will remain Israeli."

The Likud chairman continued to say that "before we liberated the Golan 41 years ago, they were on the mountain and we were in the valley; they fired on us for 19 years, and one day we put a stop to it.

"Standing here one can clearly see that the Golan is essential to Israel's security and deterrence - today more than ever before in light of the rise of Iran and its affiliates," he said.

Netanyahu warned that Syria's ties to Iran were only growing stronger. "Only a few days ago Syrian and Iranian defense ministers signed a new defense cooperation pact, and still there are those who suggest we hand over the Golan to Syria and Iran.

"The region is the single largest buffer zone that is preventing any possibility of an invasion into our small country," he added.

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