Israel’s Deputy FM: Netanyahu ‘Wrong’ to Endorse Palestinian State

Insists PM Paying Huge Political Price for His Position

As the ongoing battle within Israel’s coalition government grows around the issue of the Palestinian peace talks, it seems to be spreading within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own Likud Party.

That was the message from Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin, a hawkish Likud member who oppose the peace process, who warns that Netanyahu is paying a huge political price within Likud for his position.

Elkin insisted that he respects Netanyahu’s willingness to stand for what he supports, but that added “I think he’s wrong” and that the talks wouldn’t result in any deal because the Palestinians are still seeking statehood in the occupied territories.

Elkin added in comments to the Times of Israel that there could never be a Palestinian state, and that there is “no solution” for what to do with the Palestinian population right now, but that one might eventually present itself.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.