Tuesday 16 November 2010

Israeli minister: Future borders must be based on wall and settlements

[ 17/11/2010 - 08:38 AM ]

NAZARETH, (PIC)-- Israeli Minister of Intelligence Dan Meridor said the border-drawing process for future Palestinian and Israeli states must be based on the apartheid wall and settlement blocks, while retaining Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Meridor said in an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz published on Monday that new borders must be based on the wall and settlements, while insisting that Jerusalem was the “eternal capital”, and challenging the right of Palestinians to return to their lands.

“The Israeli public heavily supports the establishment of the Palestinians state in exchange for Jerusalem and the settlement blocks remaining under Israeli sovereignty along with the Palestinian people renouncing what they call the ‘dream to return’.”

“The Palestinians must understand they will not have a state without agreeing to settle, which includes waiving the dream of the right to return.”

The Israeli minister said that the U.S.’s offer to resume the negotiation process between the Palestinian Authority and Israel was a “reasonable offer”. He added that it was in Israel’s interest to approve the Ministerial Council’s extension of the settlement freeze.

In a separate development, Israel’s former war minister Shaul Mofaz announced plans to run for prime minister in the upcoming elections scheduled for more than two years from now.

Mofaz, a Kadima party member in the Israeli Knesset of Iranian descent, said in statements on Israeli channel 2 on Monday: “I see myself as a candidate for prime minister.”

“I have never hidden the fact that I’m running for the Kadima party leadership, and I will win in the party and general elections.”

Mofaz said he expected the current Israeli government headed by Netanyahu to collapse.

“There is no peace process, in which case there will be elections. It’s only a matter of time,” he said.

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