There’s a phrase for that: “It’s called ethnic cleansing”, Netanyahu said in a video earlier this week which was released in Hebrew and English, as well as in a version with Arabic subtitles.
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But Palestinian officials and the United States have responded sharply to his comments.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Israel was the one committing “ethnic cleansing”, and was under global isolation for its refusal to pursue peace with the Palestinians.
In his video, he said any demands that Jews leave their West Bank settlements was “outrageous”. The Prime Minister went on in his video to call this a type of “ethnic cleansing”.
“We obviously strongly disagree with the characterisation that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank”, Ms Trudeau said on Friday.
Netanyahu’s statement accurately reflected the ethnic cleansing goals of the Palestinians, yet he was attacked by the U.S. State Department for stating that truth, which then led the Palestinians, sensing an opening, to make even more intractable demands.
She added that Israel’s continued expansion of settlements raises “real questions about Israel’s long-term intentions in the West Bank”.
The remarks drew swift condemnation from the United States and members of the Arab Israeli community.
The Israeli news media mostly ignored the Netanyahu video – until the Obama administration objected.
Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said the prime minister’s video “shows that Netanyahu has crossed every red line with his egregious and blatantly unethical remarks that flout global law”.
The Palestinian foreign ministry also called Sunday for the global community to “compel” Israel to abide by worldwide law and halt settlement construction.
Mr Netanyahu continues: “Israel’s diversity shows its openness and readiness for peace”. A territory without Jews, without Hispanics, without blacks?
“Since when is bigotry a foundation for peace?” he asked. But did Benjamin Netanyahu get all that he wanted out of his video?
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of chatter about a possible meeting between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas in Moscow, brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that the two parties agreed “in principle” to meet but with no set date.
Levy further argued that the state of Israel continues to have the cleansing mentality and goal at its core while it daily carries out “microcleansings” in the West Bank, Negev desert and Jerusalem.
Last week, after Israel approved the building of 284 new housing units in West Bank settlements, the US said the policies could expand settlements in a “potentially unlimited way”.
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Danin said, “All this allows him to both solidify his right-wing base, but also reach out to the center in Israeli politics that wants a two-state solution”.
