those who think that the continued enmity toward israel is a product of our presence in judea, samaria and gaza, is confusing cause and consequence. the attacks against us began in the 1920s, escalated into a comprehensive attack in 1948 with the declaration of israel's independence, continued with the fedayeen attacks in the 1950s, and climaxed in 1967, on the eve of the six-day war, in an attempt to tighten a noose around the neck of the state of israel. all this occurred during the fifty years before a single israeli soldier ever set foot in judea and samaria. fortunately, egypt and jordan left this circle of enmity. the signing of peace treaties have brought about an end to their claims against israel, an end to the conflict. but to our regret, this is not the case with the palestinians. the closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict. many good people have told us that withdrawal from territories is the key to peace with the palestinians. well, we withdrew. but the fact is that eve

judea and samaria are the places where abraham, isaac, and jacob, david, and solomon, isaiah, and jeremiah lived. this is not an alien land. this is the land of our forefathers. [applause] the right of the jewish people to a state in the land of israel does not derive from the catastrophes that have plagued our people. true for 2000 years, the jewish people suffered expulsions, pogroms, blood rivals and massacres which culminated in a holocaust, a suffering that has no parallel in human history. there are those who say if holocaust had not occurred, the state of israel would have never been established. but i say that if the state of israel had been established in time, the holocaust would never have occurred. [applause] this tragic history of powerlessness explains why the jewish people need a sovereign power of self-defense. but our right to build our state, our sovereign state here, in the land of israel arises from one simple fact. this is the homeland of the jewish people. this is where our identity was forged. [applause] as israel's first prime minister proclaimed in israel and decla