Netanyahu: Some of the settlements won't be part of an agreement

PM assures no Israeli will be left without the proper security in final agreement.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
bibi 521 (photo credit: REUTERS)
bibi 521
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stated, in a preview of his interview with Channel 2, about the peace process, "Obviously some of the settlements won't be part of the agreement, everybody understands that."
The interview also touched on the economy, housing prices, and Netanyahu's personal life, specifically his rocky relationship with the media.
The Prime Minister stated that Israel would give up "some settlements" in the West Bank to help secure a peace agreement. Netanyahu's comments were his first in Hebrew to an expressly Israeli audience suggesting that he would concede settlements for peace. He made similar comments in English in a 2011 speech to the U.S. Congress.
The settlements built beyond the 1967 borders are considered a key issue by the United States administration and Secretary of State John Kerry in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. President Barack Obama has been critical of Jewish construction in the West Bank, including calling for a freeze in 2009. Obama also expressed these frustrations in his meeting with Netanyahu on Monday when the two discussed issues delaying the peace process.
The Palestinian authorities have also stated that the settlements are an obstacle to peace and said that the settlements which dot much of the West Bank landscape would bar them from establishing a contiguous independent state alongside, a goal of the peace talks and Kerry's framework agreement.
The prime minister, however, did make it clear in his interview that he was not planning on leaving any Israeli citizen without the proper security.
Netanyahu also touched on the issues of housing and food prices, saying he "does not intend to abandon this front" despite his focus on the peace talks, Iran, terrorism, the BDS movement and foreign investment.
The interview will air on Saturday at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.