The idea of Jewish communities in the Jordan Valley began in 1967. The so-called Alon Plan insisted that the stripe along the Jordan Valley would be annexed to Israel as a political and security border. David Elchiani is the mayor of the Jordan Valley Regional Council of Israel.
"Israel has its need, and the need is security. The Jordan Valley is very important for the security of Israel. We can't take any risks. If we want peace, real peace, the Jordan Valley has to be under Israeli sovereignty. And if the Palestinians want a state, the only chance for them is to give up and believe that the Jordan Valley has to be under Israeli sovereignty."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected a US security plan which reportedly offers ten-year Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley, but accepted the deployment of international forces in the area. Israel doesn't agree, saying Israel's security must remain in their own hands.
Besides, Israel's Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted late December in favor of a bill that would annex the Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley to Israel and apply Israeli law to them.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the Israeli government of showing "indifference" toward international law with the vote, saying the Palestinian response should be to seek statehood recognition by the UN and other international bodies.
And despite all the reasons for Israelis to stay in the Jordan Valley, the Jewish settlers here admit that their Palestinian neighbors want a state of their own.
"I think the Palestinians are mixed in themselves. They want to have a state of themselves. They want to be the owners of this place. They have good life from the economic way, but they still want a country. They don't want Israelis to stay here. This is the truth."
With the peace talks still ongoing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently the Jordan Valley issues should be embodied in any potential peace agreement.
For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.
