by Shlomo Cesana
Speaking at Bar-Ilan University four years after backing a two-state solution at the same venue, prime minister says Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not about "occupation" or "settlements" • Iran's enrichment is not peaceful, Netanyahu also exclaims.
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu speaking at Bar-Ilan University on Sunday
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Photo credit: Reuven Castro  |
With peace negotiations between Israeli and
Palestinian delegations underway, and with a May 2014 deadline looming,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned on Sunday to the same podium
from which he once backed the two-state solution and demanded that the
Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Four years after his momentous speech at
Bar-Ilan University, Netanyahu returned to the venue and said that
"recognition of a Jewish state is essential for the conclusion of the
talks in an agreement. Peace will only be possible when they [the
Palestinians] recognize our right to live here, in our own sovereign
state."
Netanyahu spoke at the 20th anniversary
international conference of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic
Studies, titled "Israel Towards 2020: Perils and Prospects." In his
address Sunday, the prime minister spoke about the roots of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying that in public discourse there were
several misconceptions over relations with the Palestinians -- prime
among them being that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main
problem in the Middle East.
"Today, in light of the events in the region, it is rather ridiculous to say that," he said.
Another misconception, Netanyahu said, was
that the conflict is about "occupation" and "settlements." Netanyahu
rejected this tenet, saying, "As far as I am concerned, practically
speaking, the conflict began in 1921 on the day that the Palestinian
Arabs attacked Beit Haolim in Jaffa." Netanyahu was referring to an
attack on Jewish passersby and businesses on May 1, 1921, which sparked
the Jaffa riots, a series of violent riots in Mandatory Palestine.
"That attack was not over land, or over settlements. It was over the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel," he said.
Netanyahu also mentioned the link between Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini and the Nazis during World War II.
"European Jewry was almost wiped out, thanks
in large part to the help of the mufti. But Zionism was not eradicated,
and the State of Israel was established. The mufti still serves as a
role model in the Palestinian culture. That is the root of the conflict,
and it must be uprooted. The root of the conflict has always been, and
still is, the same thing that has been coming up time after time for
over 90 years: a deep resistance among the Palestinian core against the
Jewish people's right to a state in the land of Israel.
"In order for the process we have undertaken
to succeed, it is essential that we finally hear the Palestinian
leadership concede that it recognizes the right of the Jewish people to
the State of Israel," Netanyahu declared.
Addressing the Palestinians, Netanyahu said,
"It is not enough for us that you recognize a binational state, and then
try to flood it with refugees. If Jews want to come, they will come
here. If Palestinians want to come, they will go there."
Iran's enrichment is not peaceful
Turning his focus to Iran, Netanyahu offered
his equation for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions imposed on
Iran by the West: "If they disable [centrifuges] they will receive
[sanctions will be lifted]. They don't disable, they won't receive."
"Iran's goal is to take over the entire Middle
East, and even beyond, and destroy the State of Israel," the prime
minister said. "This is not speculation, it is their express goal.
Israel and the U.S. see eye to eye on the objective of preventing Iran
from arming itself with nuclear weapons."
Netanyahu added that there was no truth to
recent declarations by Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, that his
country's nuclear program was designed to supply only civilian needs.
"I don't believe him," the prime minister
said. "Anyone who wishes to investigate his remarks should ask why he
insists on plutonium plants and on enriching uranium and spinning
centrifuges. These are not required for the production of peaceful
energy. There are 17 countries in the world, including Switzerland,
Sweden, Canada and Indonesia, that produce nuclear energy without those
components that Iran's president insists on. This insistence typifies
only those who seek a nuclear bomb."
The prime minister stressed that so far, the
Iranians have shown willingness to strike a diplomatic resolution due to
the sanctions, but "we mustn't let up. On the contrary, we need to
deepen and intensify [sanctions]. The simple truth is as sharp as a
knife: If they really do want peace, they will agree and abandon the
race toward a nuclear bomb. If they don't want peace, they won't."
In conclusion, Netanyahu said that "the
struggle is difficult because human nature leads us to hope, believe and
try. We, too, are willing to try, but we won't launch an open
experiment without any criteria."
Earlier, briefing the cabinet about his recent
trip to the U.S., Netanyahu said he had asked the Americans to insist
during upcoming negotiations that Iran completely give up any enrichment
capabilities. He described his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama
as "long and in-depth." He stressed that Israel and the U.S. share a
common goal: preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
"The main thing we are trying to achieve is preventing
Iran from enrichment capability," Netanyahu told the cabinet ministers.
He said he did not oppose diplomatic talks with Iran, and if diplomacy
could stop the Iranian nuclear race, he would prefer this over a
military solution.
Shlomo Cesana
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12405
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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