Yesha Council: Only Judea and Samaria sovereignty will stop next massacre

The Yesha Council umbrella group of Judea and Samaria communities has launched a campaign calling on Israel’s government to extend sovereignty over the area to prevent another terrorist massacre.

As part of the campaign, the group, which represents some 500,000 Jews living in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, released a video illustrating the danger posed by Palestinian terrorist organizations in the territory.

The minute-long clip depicts terrorists breaking through the security fence in northern Samaria with pick-up trucks and motorcycles and driving toward the Israeli city of Kfar Saba, abducting hostages to the Palestinian terror hub of Tulkarem, firing a RPG at Ben-Gurion Airport and attacking Israelis from Afula to Beersheva.

“It’s either Israeli sovereignty or the seventh of October in the center of the country,” the video states. “Now is the time to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and prevent the next massacre.”

“Judea and Samaria, the defensive shield of Israel,” the clip concludes.

Israeli government ministers have reportedly warned key European nations that any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state could prompt Jerusalem to extend sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly warned France, the United Kingdom and other countries that the move could lead Jerusalem to annex Area C of Judea and Samaria as well as legalize outposts.

“Unilateral moves against Israel will be met with unilateral moves by Israel,” Sa’ar told his counterparts, the Israel Hayom daily reported.

The report came ahead of a French- and Saudi-led summit scheduled to take place next month in New York, where French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to promote coordinated recognition of “Palestine.”

Late last week, Israeli Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf announced that Jerusalem would allocate 30 million shekels ($8.42 million) to build more than a dozen cities and industrial zones in Samaria in an attempt to bring one million more Jews to the area.

As of Jan. 1, 529,704 Jews lived in communities throughout Judea and Samaria, amounting to approximately 5.28% of Israel’s population.

Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Israel to extend full legal sovereignty over the disputed territory, according to a survey conducted on Jan. 29.

Meanwhile, 58% of Israeli Jews believe that communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the country, according to a poll the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11.