Government Minister Eli Cohen: If we need to choose, and it is not certain that we will need to do so, then sovereignty is more important than normalization with Saudi Arabia. Sovereignty is an existential necessity for us.
The interview first appeared in Issue 19 of Ribonut (Sovereignty).
On many occasions, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen has repeated the assertion that if one must choose between sovereignty and normalization with Saudi Arabia, sovereignty should be preferred. In an interview with “Sovereignty” he explains why. But he asserts that in his opinion these matters are not necessarily interdependent and it is possible to achieve both normalization and sovereignty.
"Sovereignty is the central issue we must take action to realize in the historic window of opportunity of Trump's tenure in the White House. The path of the Right has always been the concept of one state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. This stems from our historical right to the land. This acquires additional security significance against the backdrop of the ‘Swords of Iron’ war. We saw that every territory that we left, like the Gaza Strip, became a greenhouse for the growth of terror nests with Iranian influence. That is why the most important matter is the application of sovereignty,” says Cohen. He noted his current activity as Energy Minister in establishing power stations for Judea and Samaria, deploying a gas infrastructure and more, as well as his activity as Foreign Minister when he was the first to establish a foreign consulate in Judea and Samaria, as Economy Minister when he opened a chamber of commerce in Judea and Samaria, and as Intelligence Minister he spearheaded a special report that exposed the well-planned Palestinian takeover of lands in Areas A and B and took action to halt the phenomenon.
“Sovereignty is the order of the day and this should also be our immediate response whenever people talk about a Palestinian state,” he says, and we revert to his statements about sovereignty being more important than normalization. Ostensibly, normalization is supposed to engender security and political calm while sovereignty could drag us into political and perhaps even security confrontation. How then can one explain the preference of sovereignty over normalization?
Minister Cohen begins his answer to this practical question with a fundamental principled response: “This land is ours. It is bequeathed to us as an inheritance by our forefathers. History cannot be changed and we will not enable our standing in the Land to be changed for the sake of any political agreement whatsoever. I also do not agree to say tactically that perhaps we will agree to consider the matter. It must be clear that we will not consider, will not talk, and will not agree to the establishment of another state between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. In this territory there will be only one state, the State of Israel, the state of the Jewish people.”
Cohen adds and notes that among themselves, even Muslims recognize the true history of the land. He also recalls in his words the Left's conception that echoed for years according to which agreements with Arab states would not be signed unless a Palestinian state was established, while in practice it was proven through the Abraham Accords that the opposite is true. Agreements were signed without a state of that kind, and in his opinion, were it not for the October 7th massacre that halted processes, we would have been close to an agreement with Saudi Arabia, as well, without the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“These Muslim countries are not concerned by the Palestinian issue, but with Iran. Therefore, it's beneficial and worthwhile for them to have ties with Israel, even more than these ties are important to us. They are interested in creating a regional alliance that will ensure security and economic interests and regional stability. Therefore, if one must choose between sovereignty and expanding the Abraham Accords, I prefer sovereignty, but I reckon that it will be possible to broaden the Abraham Accords even with the application of sovereignty,” says Cohen, recalling all those who feared and frightened us with the harsh consequences that awaited us if the United States were to move its embassy to Jerusalem. “Did anything happen? Nothing happened, but on the contrary, it delivered a very clear message. I am happy that as Foreign Minister I succeeded in promoting the decision of five more countries to move their embassies to Jerusalem.”
The concept of “sovereignty is preferable to normalization,” Cohen is convinced, can also be marketed to people that do not stop longing, dreaming and singing about peace. “Peace must be of the kind that strengthens security and does not weaken it. Peace that involves ceding territories undermines both our historical right and Israel's security.”