Palestinian statehood idea at 'dead-end': Israel minister

Palestinian statehood idea at 'dead-end': Israel minister

A general view of an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian lands in al-Quds. (File photo)

Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:34PM GMT

Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett says that the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state has reached a dead end.

"The idea that a Palestinian state will be founded within … Israel has reached a dead end," Bennett said on Monday.

Bennett, who heads the hardline nationalist Jewish Home Party, said the most important thing Israel should do is to build more settler units.

The Israeli minister has consistently voiced opposition to the two-state solution backed by key Israeli ally Washington and the rest of the international community.

Following Bennett’s remarks, Chief Palestinian Authority Negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of officially declaring the death of the two-state solution.

"Several high-ranking Israeli officials have made clear statements regarding their position to actively work against the internationally endorsed two-state solution on the 1967 borders," Erakat said.

Erekat says the comments by high-ranking Israeli officials against the two-state solution are not isolated events, but a reaffirmation of political platforms and radical beliefs.

A report released last month revealed that the Israeli regime confiscated 1,977 acres of the Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank for its settlement activity during 2012.

The settlements, which cover an area roughly equal to 1,035 soccer fields and twice as big as New York's Central Park, were approved by “military order,” the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on May 27.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.

PG/SS