"We Are Here to Stay Forever."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem. (Thomas Coex / AFP/Getty Images)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a major address on Monday, August 28th, to mark the 50th anniversary of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. He spoke out strongly against any scaling back of Jewish settlements. He will not evacuate a single settlement. Before a large crowd, Netanyahu declared: “We are here to stay forever. There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel. This is the inheritance of our ancestors. This is our land.”

Many in the international community consider Jewish settlements in the “West Bank” illegal. This issue has been a central part of peace talks for years. Netanyahu underscored the risk Israel would face if it withdrew from this area.

The Prime Minister continued: “There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel. It has been proven that it does not help peace,” he said. “We've uprooted settlements. What did we get? We received missiles. It will not happen again.”

Watch the video of Netanyahu's address below:

This land belongs to Israel forever: ’I give to you [Abraham] and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan [even the West Bank], as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’  And God said to Abraham: ‘As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.’ Genesis 17:8-9