Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state if re-elected into office.
The statement, which Haaretz reports contradicts a 2009 speech in which he voiced support for a two-state solution, came as the Prime Minister rallied last-minute support in an interview that appeared targeted at Israel’s most conservative.
“I think that anyone who moves to establish a Palestinian state and evacuate territory gives territory away to radical Islamist attacks against Israel,” said Netanyahu in an interview with NRG news website.
“Whoever ignores that is burying his head in the sand. The left is doing that, burying its head in the sand time after time,” added the Prime Minister.
When asked during the interview whether that would mean a Palestinian state would not be established, Netanyahu declared “indeed.”
The Prime Minister said his opposition, the Zionist Union which is led by Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni, would freeze construction of Israeli settlements, deemed illegal under international law, and cooperate with the international community to return Israel’s borders to the 1967 lines, reported Haaretz.
Netanyahu’s statements came days after Israel’s Foreign Minister called for the beheading of ‘disloyal Arabs’.
The bouncer-turned-politician and currently Israel’s Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, stated that Arabs who are not loyal to the state of Israel should have “their heads chopped off with an axe.”
According to initial polls published on Friday, the Zionist Union is likely to win most seats. However, analysts in Israeli media say the race is tight and it is likely a coalition government would take time to form.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS