Israeli minister dubs settlements Israel’s “bulletproof vest”

Israel’s Army Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed on Sunday that illegal settlement outposts ensure Israel’s security and protects Israelis from outsider threats.

Quoted by the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post, Lieberman said: “From my perspective its clear, that the(y) . . . are the State of Israel’s true defensive wall.”

“At the end of the day, what is determinative is who is in the field. The settlements have always been the pioneers of the pioneers of [Israel’s] security,” Lieberman added.

He also promised to complete a plan to protect all the settlements with smart fences and better access roads by November.

There is no budget yet for the plan, Lieberman stated, but if it can be executed, it will provide security for many years to come.

He said the “construction boom” also includes the marketing of 3,500 settler homes and the advancement of plans for 7,500 to 8,000 others.

Lieberman gave an infuriating speech in defense of illegal settlements on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on Sunday.

Lieberman promised to continue supporting settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli minister explained that he had done more for settlement building than anyone else in the last 17 years, which includes granting official status to the municipal committee that governs al-Khalil’s Israeli community.