HERB KEINON
03/08/2011
In visit to Jordan Valley, PM says "This is Israel's defense line"; stresses need for security border, adds that there is no alternative to a military presence to keep terrorists, rockets from reaching heart of country.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a hastily organized visit to the Jordan Valley Tuesday said that in any future agreement the IDF will have to stay on the Jordan River.
"This is Israel's defense line," Netanyahu said, adding that if this was true in the past, it is currently "seven times more true" now considering the upheaval in the Middle East.
We need to ensure that there is a security border here," he said.
Netanyahu added that there is no alternative to an IDF presence to keep terrorists and rockets from coming into Tel Aviv, Haifa and the rest of the country.
Netanyahu also met with female soldiers and officers serving in the area to mark International Womens' Day and said that one-third of the force in the IDF is presently women, including three percent of combatants.
He said that Israel's quality for human rights is another way it stands out in the region.
Comment: Do not get excited or even encouraged by this photo opt and statement. This is a minimum stance to take and one this writer does not believe Israel should accept. We require more defensive border with this area. The major difficulty for making such a proclamation is that it provides our enemies with fuel for ramping up the "border issue". There is no realistic PR advantage for a PM to make this kind of announcement.
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