President Reuven Rivlin has not changed his stripes.
The long-time Likud nationalist hosted leaders of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) Monday and spoke in terms that washed away recent hints that his new office has shoved into acting like a shadow of Shimon Peres.
He praised Jews for living in Judea and Samaria and stated:
The settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right, stemming from a love for the land of Israel, from recognition of our roots, which come together here.
His predecessor Peres never said such words nor did he dare visit Heron, as President Rivlin did last February to the chagrin of left-wing leaders.
In his reception on Monday of settler leaders, including Yesha chairman Avi Roeh, Rivlin called for an “iron wall” against the increasing terrorism that has plagued Judea and Samaria in recent weeks.
The mention of the word “wall” will send Boycott Israel activists and other leftists up the wall with accusations that the President was calling for what they see as a virtual “Apartheid wall,” which would discriminate against terrorists and take away their “right” to kill and main in the name of “resistance” against the “occupation.”
Rivlin said:
Over the past months and especially over the last few days, the communities of Judea and Samaria have faced very serious terror attacks….
We must be an iron wall, a protective shield, against those who seek to rise up against us. At the same time, we must remember that our struggle is not a struggle for the sake of struggle. We are fighting for our lives, for the continued growth of the settlements, a struggle for development, work, and prosperity….
I love the land of Israel with all my heart. I have never and will never give up on this land. For me, our right to this land is not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism. We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land.
Yesha chairman Roeh said, ” We came here both to present before you the difficult situation in which we find ourselves. In Judea and Samaria, more than 400,000 citizens of the State of Israel live, for whom the development and the prosperity of the State is our daily concern. The building freeze and the halting of future planning in our communities, harms our very existence and our children’s future.”
