Hakibbutz Hameuchad, the kibbutz movement of the Labor Party’s Achdut Avoda faction, ended its convention today with an endorsement of the so-called Allon plan for Israel’s retention of part of the West Bank. A resolution adopted at the final session at Kibbutz Shefayim also re-affirmed that there can be no Israeli withdrawals without peace. It supported settlements in the administered territories within the context of an overall strategic defense program. The areas specified were Jerusalem and environs. Jordan Valley and the Raffah salient between Sinai and the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Minister Yigal Allon, who addressed the convention Friday, stressed that settlement planning must become part of Israel’s political and security struggle. There must be settlements on the Golan Heights and in the Jordan Valley, he said. He also called for settlements. on the eastern slopes of the highlands that traverse the West Bank from Mt. Gilboa to the Arad region in the south. A string of such settlements could be the difference between victory and defeat in another war, he said, noting that the outcome could be determined by whether the battle starts at the Jordan River or at Tulkarem just opposite Nathanya.
The convention adopted resolutions recommending talks aimed at the possible merger of kibbutz movements, strengthening the Labor Party in face of an increasingly strong rightwing opposition and encouraging a regional defense system.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
