Labor approves Herzog’s unilateral pullout plan
Opposition leader tells party that without ‘separation’ from West Bank, country will lose Jewish and democratic nature
Israel’s Labor Party on Sunday officially adopted the proposal of its leader, Isaac Herzog, calling for Israel’s disengagement from the West Bank. In a move considered by many to be a turn to the right for the leader of the center-left party, Herzog last month called for the Israeli withdrawal rather than engage in peace negotiations. Labor is one of the two parties — along with Hatnua — comprising the Zionist Union faction.
A statement from the party Sunday evening said that “for the first time in decades” it had “adopted a complete and comprehensive security policy outline.” “Only a separation between us will maintain a Jewish majority in Israel,” Herzog said when presenting his plan to a Labor Party conference in Tel Aviv earlier in the day. An Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would prevent the “infiltration of terrorists and strengthen security,” he said.
Under his plan, the West Bank security barrier would include the major settlement blocs inside Israel. Herzog maintained that the “vision” for peace and the two-state solution was not dead, but that “it’s not going to happen tomorrow. “Israel is at war, not going through a wave of terrorism; this is the Third Intifada. Every day another Israeli is killed, and unfortunately, the security situation appears to be deteriorating. I’m not willing to accept — or get used to — this reality,” he said. “If the idea of disengagement dies, then so will the State of Israel — it will stop being a Jewish state. A separate state for Palestinians is Israel’s only chance to remain a Jewish, democratic country with definable borders. This is in our best interests,” continued Herzog.
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http://www.timesofisrael.com/labor-approves-herzogs-unilateral-pullout-plan/
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