Kingdom of
Palestine
FP 18. April 2013

Haaretz Apr.07, 2013

Bennett to Norwegian FM: Yair Lapid is 'not too crazy' about the two-state solution
By Barak Ravid and Jonathan Lis

Bennett said Israel should look to improve Palestinian economy, remove checkpoints on West Bank roads, reintegrate the Palestinians into Israeli workforce and, 'if conditions allow, even to remove the separation wall.'

Excerpts:
Before meeting with Bennett, Eide met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who affirmed his commitment to his own “Bar-Ilan speech” of 2009 and the two-state principle, and said he wanted to renew the negotiations with the Palestinians soon.

However, when he met with Bennett, Eide heard messages that were 180 degrees apart from the official Israeli stance on the peace process, as reiterated by Netanyahu. According to a senior Israeli official knowledgeable about the discussion between Bennett and Eide, Bennett spoke out harshly against the idea of a Palestinian state being established between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

“We are not too crazy about the two-state solution,” Bennett told Eide, who in response asked whether he was referring to his party’s position. Bennett, however, emphasized that he was expressing the position of many of his cabinet colleagues, including Lapid.

Bennett did not once resort to ideological or religious arguments to explain his opposition to a Palestinian state, focusing instead on security aspects such as the risk of rockets being fired from the West Bank into theTel Aviv metropolitan region.

In explaining his opposition to a Palestinian state, Bennett said, “There is one viable state and it’s Jordan,” implying strongly that he believed the Hashemite kingdom should be the state of the Palestinians.

Full article:
In a meeting Wednesday with the Norwegian foreign minister, Habayit Hayehudi chairman Naftali Bennett said his political ally, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, was, like himself, “not too crazy about the two-state solution” and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The industry, trade and labor minister told Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, that he supported the removal of the West Bank separation barrier.

Before meeting with Bennett, Eide met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who affirmed his commitment to his own “Bar-Ilan speech” of 2009 and the two-state principle, and said he wanted to renew the negotiations with the Palestinians soon.

However, when he met with Bennett, Eide heard messages that were 180 degrees apart from the official Israeli stance on the peace process, as reiterated by Netanyahu. According to a senior Israeli official knowledgeable about the discussion between Bennett and Eide, Bennett spoke out harshly against the idea of a Palestinian state being established between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

“We are not too crazy about the two-state solution,” Bennett told Eide, who in response asked whether he was referring to his party’s position. Bennett, however, emphasized that he was expressing the position of many of his cabinet colleagues, including Lapid.

Bennett did not once resort to ideological or religious arguments to explain his opposition to a Palestinian state, focusing instead on security aspects such as the risk of rockets being fired from the West Bank into the Tel Aviv metropolitan region.

Bennett told Eide that rather than creating a Palestinian state, steps must be taken to dramatically improve the Palestinians’ economic situation, to remove checkpoints on West Bank roads, to reintegrate the Palestinians into the Israeli workforce and, “if conditions allow, even to remove the separation wall.”

In explaining his opposition to a Palestinian state, Bennett said, “There is one viable state and it’s Jordan,” implying strongly that he believed the Hashemite kingdom should be the state of the Palestinians.

Bennett said in response Saturday that he told the Norwegian minister: “The time has come for new directions in solving the conflict, including considering the option of Jordanian involvement as an anchor of stability in all that regards a solution with the Palestinians.”

Norway chairs the group of donors to the Palestinian Authority. Each year these nations contribute funds for building the institutions of the future Palestinian state. Eide told Netanyahu during their meeting that if the suspension of the peace process continues, many donor state could cease their contributions to the PA. He said that if there won’t be a Palestinian state, then there was no point in continuing to allocate money for that purpose.

Bennett also published an open letter to his supporters at the end of the week, providing a less controversial glimpse into his first days as a member of the government. He reveals that the prime minister is being patient with the new ministers; the public-sector workers are better than Bennett thought they’d be, and that he is still contemplating whether to support or oppose the Economic Arrangements Bill ‏(the supplementary legislation to the budget‏).

“The prime minister is very patient and attentive to the new ministers, and the work is good,” Bennett reassures his anxious public, adding: “The initial dynamic within the government is good, in my opinion. I’m seeing a practical approach from all sides: the prime minister, Yair Lapid, [Justice Minister Tzipi] Livni, etc. This may change, but for now it’s looking good. There is a high-quality level of debate.”

Bennett is in charge of the religious services and industry, trade and labor ministries.
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