The whole of the Gaza Strip should be encircled by Jewish settlements if peace and tranquility is to come to that area, Yitzhak Rafael, a member of the Knesset and one of the most influential members of the National Religious Party, last night told the convention of the Religious Zionists of America. In addition, he suggested that El Arish which is some 90 miles from the Suez Canal and about the same distance from Israel’s 1967 border, should become a mixed Jewish-Arab town, Rafael stated that the Strip should remain inside Israel but that flexibility might be shown regarding areas closer to the canal. He also emphasized that the NRP continues to hold the position that the Jordan River must remain Israel’s eastern border. “There can be no agreement with Jordan that would involve returning to it any part of Judea or Sumaria,” he stated.
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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.