Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US National Security Adviser John Bolton on Sunday, June 23, 2019, toured the Jordan Valley, including the Givonit overlook and Qasr al-Yahud. They also held a helicopter tour of the Jerusalem district, the security fence and the Jordan Valley.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and US National Security Adviser Bolton were briefed on security matters by IDF Chief of Central Command Major-General Nadav Padan, Civil Administration Deputy Head Colonel Shai Karmona and IDF Jordan Valley Brigade Commander Colonel Udi Tzur.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said in English:
“I’m very pleased to have the national security advisor of the United States, John Bolton, and the ambassador of the United States to Israel, David Friedman, join me on this tour of the Jordan Valley.

“John, as you can see, the Jordan Valley offers Israel the minimal strategic depth and strategic height for the defense of our country. Our presence here also guarantees stability and security for the entire region.

“For those who say that for peace to be established Israel has to leave the Jordan Valley, I’ll say that’s not going to bring peace, that’s going to bring war and terror. We’ve been there and we don’t want to be there again.

“Under any peace agreement, our position will be that Israel’s presence should continue here for Israel’s security and for the security of all.

“In general, I would say that we’ll hear the American proposition, hear it fairly and with openness. I cannot understand how the Palestinians, before they even heard the plan rejected it outright. That’s not the way to proceed.

“We believe that peace is coupled and dependent on security. Our presence here guarantees security, and therefore guarantees peace.”

US NSA Bolton:
“I’ll just say that without security there is no peace, there is no long-lasting peace. And I just think it’s too bad, Prime Minister, that more Americans can’t come to locations like this, see the geography, understand its significance, understand how it affects Israel’s critical security position, and explain why Israel has taken the view that it has.

“I can assure you that President Trump will take the concerns that you have voiced so clearly over the years very much into account as we go forward on this.”

At the Givonit overlook in the Jordan Valley, Netanyahu spoke with Bolton about the importance of the Jordan Valley in maintaining the security of the State of Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu and NSA Bolton were then briefed at the overlook, and at Qasr al-Yahud, by Deputy Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Brig.-Gen. (res.) Guy Goldstein on the environmental development plan for the “Land of the Monasteries”, the project to clear landmines and the development of tourism in the region.

Also participating in the tour were National Security Adviser and National Security Council Chairman Meir Ben-Shabbat, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem/photo credit: Kobi Gideon, GPO)