The Israeli Prime Minister defended himself against criticism in his right-wing camp yesterday, calling himself the greatest champion of Israel's right to the occupied West Bank.
Responding to fears that he was on the verge of ceding land for peace, Mr Benajmin Netanyahu played down speculation that Israel and the Palestinians were about to break a 15-month-old deadlock.
Invoking biblical names for the West Bank, a statement said he told his cabinet "the territory of Judea and Samaria is no more dear to anyone than to him, and (Jewish) settlement is no more dear to anyone than it is to him . . . For us these territories are part of our homeland and we will fight for them". Ultra-nationalists in Mr Netanyahu's coalition have threatened to topple the Israeli leader should he go through with plans to give Palestinians self-rule in the West Bank in keeping with Israeli peace promises starting in 1993.