The Palestinians have never been interested in a “Two-State solution,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon stated Tuesday – but only in hurting Israel.
“Their goal is not to establish a Palestinian state along ’67 borders, but to destroy the Jewish state,” Ya’alon stated, in an interview on PBS. “That is the reason why they have never said the term ‘two states for two peoples’: they don’t want to recognize that a Jewish state [exists].”
“Two states for two peoples” has been a slogan of Israel’s far left for decades, but has become more mainstream since the Oslo era.
Ya’alon also related to Israel’s sovereignty in Judea and Samaria – where the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been clamoring to establish a “Palestinian state” – and said that it would lead to another “Hamas-stan,” in his words.
Ya’alon is currently making the rounds in the US, championing the necessity of Israel defending itself and maintaining its security amid a flurry of declarations by international bodies in support of a Palestinian statehood bid.
Ya’alon made stronger statements to this effect during a meeting with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at UN headquarters in New York on Monday, stressing that Israel will stop the rehabilitation process of Gaza if Hamas continues to build terror tunnels.
“We want the people of Gaza to live in dignity and prosperity, to rebuild their homes and return to normal life. But we’re very concerned. Yesterday, Hamas officials stated they plan to renovate the tunnels, and that’s instead of renovating the homes of Gazans,” Ya’alon told Ban.
“If this is the case, we cannot allow rehabilitation materials to enter Gaza,” he clarified. “We also will not agree that Hamas will arm itself again. We have an interest that the people of Gaza will improve their financial situation and their lives, but it must be clear that the money and the equipment do not go towards terrorism, which is why we are closely watching the developments.”
The international community has rallied behind Gaza, donating a record $5.4 billion dollars to its “rehabilitation” despite ample evidence that the aid money is being used to rebuild tunnels and rearm Hamas.
Israeli politicians have stressed that the PA-Hamas unity pact indicates that neither are serious about restarting peace talks, and that funding Hamas in Gaza to attack Israel again is tantamount to declaring war on the idea of a diplomatic solution.
