PM meets settler leaders on U.S. peace plan gripes

Netanyahu addresses issue of 19 localities set to become enclaves within future Palestinian state which will surround them on all sides, leaving only narrow access path connecting between them and Israel

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday met with the heads of the Yesha council, an umbrella organization of municipal councils of settlements in the West Bank, to discuss their objections to U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan.
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  • A major part of the meeting addressed the issue of enclaves that is causing concern among residents.
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    ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו נפגש עם ראשי רשויות יש"ע
    ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו נפגש עם ראשי רשויות יש"ע
    Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with Yesha Council leadership, December 2018
    (Photo: GPO)
    According to the plan, 19 localities are expected to remain isolated with a future Palestinian state surrounding them on all sides, leaving only a narrow access path connecting between them and Israel.
    According to settler leaders, the measure will adversely affect the security of the citizens and the possibility of the localities to develop.
    On Monday, settlement mayors welcomed the plans to extend Israeli sovereignty over West Bank territories at a faction meeting of the right-wing Yamina party, a former member of Netanyahu's religious, right-wing bloc.
    However, settler leaders lamented the prospect of a "terrorist" Palestinian state emerging right in Israel's "heartland," saying that they cannot back the move if that is the precondition for it.
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    רמת גבעת זאב
    רמת גבעת זאב
    The West Bank settlement of Ramat Givat Ze'ev
    (Photo: Reuters)
    Yamina leader Naftali Bennett stressed, however, that no final decision on how to vote on the move had been made yet as the party must first look at the plan's finalized maps and arrangements.
    Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed the plan with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and other American officials, and Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he instructed the IDF to brace for the move.
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