For the first time since the outbreak of Swords of Iron, the war which began following the Hamas massacre on October 7th, the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus convened Tuesday morning for an emergency hearing titled “Terrorist State Right Around the Corner: The Day After the War.”
Land of Israel Caucus co-chairs, MKs Yuli Edelstein, Limor Son Har Melech, and Simcha Rothman hosted experts and activists to discuss the lessons of October 7th and developing security and political realities.
At the hearing, Caucus members - MKs and ministers representing a wide range of Zionist parties – wore newly-minted gold lapel pins, expressing the Caucus’ commitment to Israeli sovereignty over the entirety of the Land of Israel, and signed a proclamation rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River. The proclamation expressed the members’ deep concerns regarding the Palestinian Authority’s intentions and tactics, and called upon the US government to resolve differences of opinion with the Israeli government in an atmosphere befitting closely allied democratic nations.
Representing Regavim’s Research Division, Moran Tal, an expert Arabist and translator, presented the findings detailed in Regavim’s most recent report, “Officers by Day, Terrorists by Night,” detailing the massive involvement of the Palestinian Authority and officers of its security forces in terrorism.
Attorney Marc Zell, an expert in international and US litigation, explained the importance and implications of the recently-issued executive order and the sanctions imposed by the US government on Israelis: “This is a very serious and unprecedented course of action that has been taken by the administration for purely political reasons. In a desperate attempt to garner support and hang on to the presidency, the Biden administration is pandering to anti-Israel voices, and the vague language of this executive order poses a danger to every citizen of Israel. Together with other experts in international and American law, we are initiating a series of legal challenges against this outrageous Executive Order.”
At the start of the hearing, Caucus co-chairman Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein said: “For the past five months we have been tested, and our battle for our homeland is real and immediate. We must demonstrate to all those who are plotting against us in Judea and Samaria that they will not succeed. We must fight for our rights over all of the Land of Israel, our rights to settle throughout our Land. Whoever thinks that the Palestinian Authority will establish a state - I say to them, absolutely not. We will expose the true face of the Palestinian Authority as a supporter of terrorism.”
Caucus co-chair MK Limor Son Har Melech added: “The Palestinian Authority supports terrorism, funds terrorism. Tragically, Israel’s security system is still under the influence of the same failed paradigms and doesn’t want anyone to disrupt its fantasies of peace. We have taken the path of selective blindness – just as we looked the other way before October 7th. We must use all means at our disposal to stop this.”
Caucus co-chair MK Simcha Rothman urged: “I call upon the American Jewish community and to all our friends around the world: Support Jewish communities! Stand up for Israel! Lend your voice in rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state – any and every way you can! We must fight back against the hate-filled lies and slander against the residents of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the pioneers who have returned to Zion.”
Minister Orit Strock attended the hearing, and added: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. Gaza is ours, part and parcel of Israel, and like every other inch of our country we must rule there. We must extend Israeli sovereignty to all of Israel, and we cannot accept any other sovereignty anywhere in the Land of Israel. The Palestinian Authority supports terrorism and attempts to attain statehood by taking over the open spaces.I recently presented a report to the Prime Minister detailing the PA’s de facto annexation. We must respond with at least the same level of resources and effort that the Palestinian Authority is investing.”
Internal Security Minister and Security Cabinet Itamar Ben Gvir addressed the Tuesday morning Caucus hearing, saying: “It is inconceivable that after everything we have been through there are still members of the Israeli government who are trapped in a failed conception, and continue to talk about the Palestinian Authority and cooperation, about bringing them into Gaza - proving that they have not done any re-evaluation of their underlying concepts. This cannot be.”
MK Ariel Kallner stressed: “We need not wait until the Nazi Palestinian Authority carries out a repeat of October 7th to begin to ask why and how this happened. The addiction to so-called cooperation is dangerous. We are dealing with a hostile and threatening Authority and we must stop closing our eyes to the truth. We must stand up and fight against the enemy organizations and those who seek to delegitimize us around the world.”
MK Ohad Tal said: “We are engaged in an existential battle – no more and no less – for Israel. In order to win this war, we have to know what we are fighting for, and we are fighting for the Land of Israel.”
Other MKs who participated in the Caucus hearing included Yitzhak Kroizer, Tzvi Succot, Tsega Melaku, Osher Shkalim, Nissim Vaturi, Dan Illouz, Sasson Guetta, and Simon Moshiashvili. Other participants included representatives of the Regavim Movement, the Yesha Council, Garin Yishai, Yisrael Sheli, Tzofot, Maavak al Kol Dunam, and American Friends of Judea and Samaria.