The leader of Israel’s right-wing opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party Avigdor Lieberman has called for Egypt to control the Gaza Strip and for Israel and Jordan to share responsibility for the West Bank.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Friday, Lieberman “laid out his vision of how Israel’s borders would look without a Palestinian state.”
Lieberman also said “We understand that this idea of a two-state solution (to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) has died. It does not exist.”
“We need another approach,” Lieberman said, adding that it was illogical to “do the same thing for many years and to expect different results.”
Lieberman: 'Israel must give Gaza to Egypt, share West Bank with Jordan' https://t.co/NloT5wXpjy
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 4, 2024
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, Area A, which includes the cities of the West Bank, is under complete Palestinian control, Area B is subject to Palestinian civil and Israeli security control, while Area C is under full Israeli control and constitutes 60 percent of the West Bank’s area, reports the Middle-East Monitor (MEMO).
According to The Jerusalem Post, Liberman said he would now want to return to the idea of “a confederation between Jordan and the Palestinians.”
He recalled that Area C of the West Bank is divided into three sections. Areas A and B are under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority and Area C, where all the settlements are located, is under the Israeli army’s military and civilian control, reports the paper.
Under Liberman’s plan, the report continues, “all of Area A and a small portion of B” would be under Jordanian control through a confederation, while Israel would apply sovereignty to the remainder of Area B and all of Area C.
YAIR LAPID: "Ben Gvir has proven that he does not understand anything in foreign policy, and Netanyahu has no control over the extremists in his government".
BENNY GANTZ: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should order Ben Gvir to stop harming Israel's foreign relations.… pic.twitter.com/V9qAFr9HFj
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 4, 2024
Future Proposals ‘Not Realistic’
Liberman, who does not currently hold any government position, reportedly said “As one who has lived for many years in Judea and Samaria, a settler like (myself), realizes that every day the situation is worsening compared to what it was in 1993.”
He also charged that the Palestinian Authority (PA) does “not know what governance is” adding that “Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and his people have lost control even in Ramallah.”
“The time has come to tell the Palestinians that the idea is finished. You missed your opportunity,” he reportedly told the paper.
Lieberman also believes that Israel should cut all its ties with Gaza, reports the paper.
“At the end of the day the Egyptians should take control .. of the Gaza Strip as a mandate of the UN and the Arab League,” he said.
“We don’t have any other choice. All other proposals that I saw.. are not realistic. They are mission impossible,” he is quoted as saying.
He was also of the view that “to speak today as if the PA can take control of Hamas is non-realistic.”
Israeli forces continued to launch multiple airstrikes since dawn on Sunday, especially focusing on the central and southern regions of the Gaza Strip. https://t.co/ITW751vvJK pic.twitter.com/Ve15uiwT8a
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 4, 2024
Humanitarian Aid ‘Strengthens Hamas’
Abbas and his Fatah Party, Lieberman explained, already rely heavily on the Israeli army’s support in the West Bank, the report continues.
He also believes that Israel should not be providing Palestinians in Gaza with humanitarian aid, arguing that it robs the government of an important pressure lever to ensure the return of the hostages, the report states.
“We lost all our leverage. If they have everything, food, fuel, and water, how can you pressure them?” he said.
“All the humanitarian assistance strengthens Hamas,” Liberman said, while also calling for the Kerem Shalom crossing to be closed.
The paper further reports that Lieberman believes that Netanyahu should resign and should have done so already.
“(Netanyahu) took the country into a deadlock, and he is not willing to recognize his responsibility for what happened on October 7,” Lieberman reportedly said.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
