President Reuven Rivlin has said that Israel has a ‘right’ to build settlements in the West Bank.
In talks with settler leaders in Jerusalem on Monday, Mr Rivlin said: “For me, our right to this land is not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism.
"We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land. For me, the settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right.”
Mr Rivlin also said at the meeting: “The settlements are at the forefront of the struggle [for peace], and the price paid by the settlers is a painful price indeed.”
