The head of Binyamin Council is convinced that despite the intentions to postpone sovereignty, there is no reason to stop the public and political pressure on Netanyahu: If he thinks that this is what will give him victory in the elections, it will happen, even during his term.
In a special interview that he gave to Ribonut, the head of Binyamin Council Yisrael Gantz relates to recent political events, the agreement that was reached with the United Emirates, the contacts with the White House and the postponement, for the moment, of advancing the steps of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
“Sovereignty did not begin with Netanyahu and I don’t know if it will end with Netanyahu. Rather, it is because we returned to the Land and our spiritual state. Since the Sovereignty Movement began to talk about sovereignty and since we have been talking about sovereignty, I know that things don’t happen in one day and I am not discouraged that things are not going exactly as we thought they would. Two years ago, Netanyahu did not speak about sovereignty, but thank Heaven, after hard work to change the discourse, the efforts are bearing fruit and he has begun to speak about sovereignty. Now he accepts sovereignty with the Trump plan and I hope that this binding will be canceled, so even if it does not happen today, sovereignty will happen, G-d willing”.
Gantz sounded relaxed, despite the political instability. To that end, he takes a long-range historic view. “We are not discouraged if things are postponed. This is our mission. The pressure that we are exerting must not change. We must continue to exert pressure until it happens. With G-d’s help, I am sure that it will happen. It is now clear to everybody that it must happen. Nothing goes easily, so I am not upset by a delay of one kind or another”.
“According to tactical analysis, which is not the important thing, not much has changed. We were with Netanyahu in Washington and even then, there was a change when he thought that there would be sovereignty within three days and it turned out that it would take months. Even then, they told us that Kushner would not do anything without progress with the Gulf states, so representatives from the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia were present at the ceremony. It was clear that they are part of the sphere of influence. None of us knew about the agreement that was being formulated but we understood that it was not simple for the Americans”.
“It was Wednesday. I told the Prime Minister then, ‘you will have to fight for it to happen on Sunday. He said ‘No, it is agreed with the Americans’. I told him, ‘If you don’t fight, it won’t happen because these things take time’. So it doesn’t affect our work as a whole. We will continue to work so that, God willing, there will be sovereignty”.
And perhaps because of the opposition to the Trump plan, which includes negotiations for a Palestinian state, it is better to drop this type of sovereignty?
“If the price of sovereignty is a Palestinian state, it would be better to drop it. The Prime Minister tried to navigate in between. We decided to put the risk of a Palestinian state on the table. It is too great a risk and we must oppose it clearly and resolutely. This is what we did. They tell me ‘You ruined the chance for sovereignty’, I say ‘we preserved the basic values of full sovereignty’. A Palestinian state would endanger the State of Israel and sovereignty, so we want sovereignty, and the fact that the Prime Minister wants to combine it in the plan and various sources of support is okay, but irrelevant”.
And since he sees it as a package deal of sovereignty and a Palestinian state, maybe it is right to wait for a different right-wing leader?
“I agree that the Prime Minister, who opposes a Palestinian state in principle, thinks that this demilitarized state is not the end of the world. But I say that a state is a state. I do not believe that we should wait for another leader, but we should continue to act and continue to exert pressure. Netanyahu is one of 120 Members of Knesset. There is a Knesset and there is the government of Israel and we must lead to a situation where it will happen”.
And in the present political and policy reality the matter is shelved until after the Netanyahu days, or can it happen even during his time?
“Not at all. Israeli politics can change every hour and interests change every fifteen minutes. We must not remove the matter of sovereignty from the agenda. We cannot know what the political situation will be in another month. If Netanyahu understands that this is what will lead him to victory in the next elections and that without sovereignty he will fall in the next elections, there will be sovereignty. Therefore, it must be the main issue on the agenda for the settlement enterprise”.
According to Gantz, almost all of the leadership in YESHA Council agrees with the view that he presents here. “In the council, everyone wants sovereignty except for one person, everyone opposes a Palestinian state. There are those who say that we should take the Trump plan, there will be sovereignty and it will be alright. It is a tactical question. I think that there are things you don’t do. There are values that must not be harmed. This plan is too dangerous to say ‘let’s go with it and it will be alright’. Even in principle, I am not willing to say that I am ready to make a deal. There are values about which you have to make clear, simple and natural statements. There are those who think differently, but I do not think that the differences are so great”.