January 28, 2016
— The leader of Israel’s Labor party, Isaac Herzog revealed his new
plan in a speech he gave in Tel Aviv at the National Security Studies
Conference on January 19th, where he concluded that it is currently
impossible to implement a two-state solution in the immediate future.
Below are excerpts from his comments reported by numerous Israeli and
world media outlets.
“I’ve been observing the situation for some time and I
realize that right now it would be impossible to negotiate a two-state
solution… I’ve not abandoned the idea; my basic position continues to be
that the only way to solve the conflict is by implementing a two-state
solution… The reason we cannot achieve it right now is that Netanyahu
and Abbas… are held hostage by their supporters and they are alienated
from one another.
“The basic principle is separation from the
Palestinians; we should separate wherever it is feasible. This will
increase security. We should complete the fence around the settlement
blocks, us here and them there. That will lower the level of terror
immediately. Ariel Sharon did it successfully. The separation wall will
reduce terrorist’s attacks and each of us will be able to go on with his
life.
“I suggest withdrawing from 28 Palestinian
villages surrounding Jerusalem and building a wall that will keep them
out of the city. We don’t need hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in
our capital… By doing this we will reduce the level of friction. Anyone
who wants to work here will have to receive permission from the various
security agencies. I don’t describe this as a diplomatic measure. It is a
security measure. What I am saying is that peace is unobtainable right
now so let’s achieve security so that we can talk about peace.
“We will be here and you, Palestinians, will be
there…live your lives, improve your economy, create employment.”
Regarding Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza, Herzog said:
“They will have no immunity and for
every attack they’ll pay a heavy price. This won’t mean dummy bombings
of empty areas. We’ll employ an effective iron fist and shut down their
radio and TV stations. After that they won’t have Internet or mobile
phone services. They won’t be able to transmit instructions to
terrorists. We’ll take harsh and severe steps, including ones directed
at their leaders.”
Following his speech, Herzog went
to Paris where he met with French President Francois Holland at the
Elysee Palace, telling him that current French and EU resolutions
restricting trade with Israel to the 1967 boarders only reward terrorism
and the BDS movement and nullify the possibility of advancing regional
moves. Herzog added, “Israelis won’t accept anyone imposing decisions on
them. Israel is a sovereign state, hence any such decision or step only
damages Israeli public willingness to advance toward a change in the
Middle East.’’
“Herzog’s remarks”, said Rabbi Marvin Hier,
Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, “reflect a widely held
opinion in Israel on all sides of the spectrum that what we have before
us today is a three-state solution, with two separate Palestinian
entities that don’t speak to each other, one in Ramallah and the other,
headed by Hamas, that make prospects for peace in the near future
untenable.”
Source: The Simon Wiesenthal Center
No comments:
Post a Comment