Ya'alon: Jews have right to settle in land of the Bible

Chaim Levinson
Haaretz Correspondent
10 September 09

Moshe Ya'alon, the former army chief and current minister in Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, said on Wednesday that Jews have an "unassailable right" to "settle anywhere, particularly here, the land of the Bible."

Ya'alon spoke during an appearance marking the 25 years since the founding of the West Bank settlement of Eli, southeast of Ariel.

The minister, who holds the strategic affairs portfolio while also occupying the title of vice premier, said Eli, which is tucked deep in the heart of the disputed territory, "breathes life into the Zionist vision in the face of the rising Arab nationalism."

"The withdrawals [from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank in 2005] whetted the appetites of our neighbors," Ya'alon said. "It is not easy saying this to a nation which was promised peace if only it made a few more concessions."

"[Israel] must revive the values of Zionism and to derive power and morality from it," Ya'alon said. "Eli is an example and a model to be imitated."



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