Netanyahu's Apartheid Peace Plan

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Netanyahu represents the hard edge of longstanding racist Israeli policies toward Palestinians.

He proposed stripping around 1.6 million Israeli Arab citizens of their citizenship, ethnically cleansing them to Palestinian control as part of a final status agreement in exchange for all valued West Bank territory - a lunatic scheme rejected by all responsible Palestinians.

Ultranationalist defense minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed the idea years ago, claiming it makes no sense to have Arabs in a Jewish state - or sensible to have a Palestinian state with no Jews while 20% of Israel's population is Arab.

His scheme and Netanyahu's is flagrantly racist and unacceptable. 

Palestinians long ago were willing to forego 78% of their native land in return for their own within pre-June 1967 borders - along with East Jerusalem as their exclusive capital, control of their borders, air space and offshore waters, along with their diaspora population free to return.

Israel categorically rejects fairness, wanting control of all valued parts of Judea and Samaria with maximum Jews and minimum Arabs.

Netanyahu, Lieberman and likeminded extremists want only Jews and no Arabs, relegating Palestinians to worthless, cantonized scrubland, surrounded by hostile Israel - a prescription for endless conflict and instability.

MK Aida Touma-Suliman responded to Netanyahu's scheme, saying "(t)he cat is out of the bag and Netanyahu has shown his true colors regarding the Arab population."

"We the Arab citizens aren't part of any such equation and aren't willing to pay the price again for Israel's policy of occupation and settlements."

There's more. Legislation sponsored by Islamophobe MKs Naftali Bennett and Jerusalem Affairs minister Zeev Elkin calls for splitting off Arab neighborhoods of the city to make it entirely Jewish - creating ghettoized Palestinian neighborhoods.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live on stolen Palestinian land. Any responsible peace deal requires returning it to their rightful owners.

Israeli Arab citizens of Israel were born there, along with their ancestors, their roots going back many centuries.

Moving human beings around like pieces on a chessboard flagrantly violates international law.

Netanyahu always opposed a fair and equitable two-state solution. He earlier called peace talks "a waste of time."

Like America, Israel doesn't negotiate. It demands, imposing its will on Palestinians since 1948, intending to keep things this way in perpetuity. 

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