Gershon Mesika, the head of the Shomron Regional Council, was a guest of honor this week in the British House of Lords in London.

The visit marked the first time that a leader of the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria visited the House of Lords, the members of which have in the past made remarks against Israel and against the communities in Judea and Samaria. The official conference which Mesika attended was the culmination of four days of political meetings he held in London with MPs, professors, leaders and opinion makers from Europe, Africa and the United States.

Along with Mesika, the conference was also attended by his adviser Yossi Dagan and by David Haivri, director of the Shomron Liaison Council.

Mesika told the attendees, “Anyone who comes to Samaria, and some of the respected members of Parliament in this room were there and will confirm my words, sees for himself the importance of the Shomron to the State of Israel - both as the cradle of civilization and the roots of Israel as well as the country’s protective belt. Those in Europe who push for Palestinian statehood, the meaning of their actions is to cut the heart of the country and put 300,000 Jews under the threat of expulsion. If we go, the terror will replace us.”

He added, “European countries must understand that without the State of Israel, there will be no one to stop the Islamic tide from washing up Europe, and without Judea and Samaria the State of Israel is not viable.”

Mesika´s words were received by applause and support from European parliamentarians, some of whom have already toured the area. The Shomron Regional Council described the visit as successful and noted that following the visit and meetings, many more Europeans have expressed their interest in taking tours of the region in the coming months. (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 04/29/12)