Middle East Monitor / April 16, 2022
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced on Friday that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be based on creating two different political, not geographical, entities, Arab 48 reported.
Speaking with the Walla news website, Gantz asserted that the Israeli entity must maintain its military superiority over the Palestinian entity.
Gantz said that if he became a prime minister, he would continue meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas: “For the sake of seeking a better reality.”
He cited late Israeli leaders who made peace with the Arab states and stressed that Israel must maintain its security and military superiority in the region.
Regarding the different political entities, Gantz explained that every entity cares about its own affairs, stating that the Palestinian geographical integrity should only be based on a transportation system that facilitates it.
“I am trying to make a much more positive reality,” he noted. “It is very difficult to reach peace, but let’s try to live in peace.”
Regarding his meetings with Abbas, Gantz added: “He [Abbas] is against violence and believes that the conflict should be political… Conflict is always not good for us, and going to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and describing us as an apartheid regime is not the right thing.”
Speaking of Abbas, Gantz continued: “Condemning terror is good; paying money for terrorists is not good, but discussions with him were respectful.”
Gantz recognized that the PA is weak, adding that Israel is trying to support it and asks it to be more powerful in the north of the West Bank.
Gantz indicated that the Palestinians can govern themselves, and Israel will not interfere in their affairs.
“We want to be a democracy. A safe and solely Jewish state,” he expressed, “we want to concentrate on this, not on ruling the Palestinians.”
