The US president's historic vision must be welcomed, but at the same time amendments must be made to the sovereignty map. • Between rejecting the plan and its absolute acceptance, there is a third way.

Trump's vision is good for Israel, certainly if compared with American programs from the past. Outline is the only realistic way to ever reach peace with our neighbors, and that is to be welcomed. However, and this is where the ball is located mainly on the Israeli side, there are necessary repairs and my friends and I have to work on settlements in recent days. 

Netanyahu: "In a few months we will be able to exercise sovereignty" // Photo: GPO

The problem is not friendly governance, but the execution of his good will. The problem is the map. In the public debate, the impression is that there are only two ways ahead of us, and we must choose from them: full and complete agreement to the plan as it is and the map as presented by the Americans in a joint statement with Netanyahu in the White House, or a complete waiver of sovereignty and the loss of time. 

In the face of the current administration, and in light of the close friendship between Netanyahu and Trump, the USSR's opponents who oppose the map in its current form want to present a third way. The introduction of changes in the sovereignty map so that it can be answered in terms of access and subsistence on the ground for all communities - in a way that the entire enterprise can continue to exist. And grow. 

In the current map, we are sacrificing critical Israeli interests and leaving 16 communities as enclaves, with tens of thousands of residents facing a reality that will not allow them to continue living in these areas. We cut off major traffic jams and important arteries for localities. In this way we do their fate. In this situation we cannot control the yeast and do nothing. There is a mutual guarantee and common interest here that we are committed to. 

More on:

• PM in a special interview with Israel Today: "We will not give up, but the Palestinians"

• Palestinian Foreign Minister: "Arab states do not deny their support for applying sovereignty"

• The Yesha Council's misleading campaign against sovereignty in Judea and Samaria

• Gantz instructed the chief of staff to now prepare for the sovereignty;

So far what has happened with the US government is indeed dramatic, and has not occurred since the establishment of the state. The Trump administration has been very generous and has come a long way toward Israel: moving the embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the Golan Heights and declaring that the settlements do not violate international law. This is not self-evident and we do not dismiss it, certainly not after the previous administrations and plagues that the settlement has taken in the form of the Oslo Accords, the disengagement and the construction freezes. 

However, precisely because of the fear of American governments being hostile to future settlement and seeking to advance other interests, we must make sure that the things being done now on the ground do not put many settlements on the edge of the cliff. From there, it will be possible with a little push to lead them to another and painful deportation.

No one in the settlement thinks that in the current administration there are those who seek to harm and harm Israel, but also in the White House will understand that we live here and know the area well, have the insights and attainments worth hearing. All that is required is that the Israeli side choose to lift the glove and be attentive to the changes the Yesha Council seeks to make on the sovereignty lines in the territory, and make the proposal to the Americans. 

We are not ungrateful, we are not detached from reality. We are aware of the size of the hour and do not want to miss it, only that we seek to exploit it wisely. There is no reason that in the end you will not be left on the table to the satisfaction of all parties, which will allow a joint celebration of a historic moment.

The writer is the head of the Bethel Council