[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
“Let me be clear, the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews” Bayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett told an audience at an election event in English.
Speaking about the Israeli PA (Palestinian Authority) conflict, the Knesset hopeful uses the following analogy, a person seated at a beach when a tsunami hits, and ignoring everything else surrounding the area. He feels that is what is done regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and the PA. “Unfortunately, we are not in an isolated island where we can say Israel there and Palestinians there”.
He makes reference to Hamas’ official charter, which calls for killing the Jews. “My vision is and I will be very clear is one million Jews in Yehuda and Shomron in ten years”. He feels that the establishment of a Hamas state in those areas “is nuts”, just as annexing those areas to Israel as “nuts”.
Bennett speaks of his “imperfect practical solution” which calls for annexing Yehuda and Shomron to Israel while giving the PA residents citizenship and permitting them to vote. “They will feel like they won the lottery”. He feels the 2 million Arabs living in Yehuda and Shomron will stay just where they area while the others in Jordan and elsewhere.
“If it ain’t broken don’t fix it” Bennett states regarding Jerusalem. The Arabs can go onto the Temple Mount and we are there too” so he feels we should not be seeking a solution that hasn’t a chance of improving today’s current realities. He feels the rule is that if Israel leaves an area “Iran comes in” and this was seen in Gaza and S. Lebanon and the pullout from areas of Judea and Samaria has led to the deaths of 1,600 Israelis.
Bennett feels it is unrealistic to aspire to a vision of peace “with doves flying between Damascus and Israel.” He vehemently disagrees with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that failure to achieve peace will make the end of Israel. He feels a Israel’s future depends of being a strong democratic nation “and that’s up to us. Yes, it is an imperfect solution but it solves demographics and security and keeps us in our land.”
Click HERE to watch his video on a mobile device.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
If I could vote, I would vote for Bayit Hayehudi because he is a Modern Orthodox Religious party and also is in touch with reality, (but there are things that he says which I’d have to say I would disagree with).