H.E. Mr. Boaz Modai:

With regard to the question about Israel participating in dialogue in Egypt, as far as I understand it - I was updated only three and a half hours ago - Israel is interested in continuing this dialogue. We want Gaza to be rehabilitated, as I stated. Our conditions are clear. I stated that as long as Hamas controls the area, we have a problem. A few times it was declared by foreign affairs Ministers from EU countries that Gaza must be demilitarised. We certainly support this approach and believe that when that happens, the sky will be the limit, and the generosity and openness on the part of Israel would be very significant.

The Chairman asked about the land at Gush Etzion. I saw the reaction around the world and the lack of proportionality amazed me. While radical Islamic terrorism is taking over the Middle East - and on its way to Europe, by the way - large parts of the world are dealing with a decision that is the beginning of a long bureaucratic process. I will elaborate on that. I should explain that we are talking about the land located at Area C of the West Bank, Judea and Samaria. According to the agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, Area C is fully under Israeli responsibility. There were never any claims to this land, either by Israelis or Palestinians, and nobody has ever claimed to be the owner of this land. This land was never cultivated. We are speaking about an area which is approximately 1.5 sq. m., or 0.08% of the territory of Judea and Samaria. It is located at Gush Etzion, one of the two Israeli Jewish centres that in any future agreement would remain under Israeli sovereignty. There is an understanding by the Palestinians of that.

Gush Etzion also has an interesting history that members may not know. For thousands of years it has had a Jewish presence, and the first time it was taken from Jews was during the war of independence, when the area was taken by the Jordanians and other Arab militants from the region. Some 127 men and women went out with a white flag to give up and were executed. As a result, this place has an emotional importance for all Israelis.

I want to put these issues in proportion. The area taken by Israeli villages and towns from Judea and Samaria is approximately 1.7% of total area. People have a different and wrong impression about this, as less than 2% of the area is being held by Israelis. The area we are speaking of is really tiny. We are not speaking about taking land, and that is a mistake I have seen too often in the past two days. It is a decision to describe the land differently.