Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pledged not to abandon his position on the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying, “As long as I am prime minister, there will be no implementation of the Oslo agreement.”
Bennett said – in an interview with the Hebrew newspaper “Israel Today” yesterday – “I am from the right wing, and my positions have not changed. Palestinian Authority leaders.
“As long as I am the prime minister, there will be no Oslo,” he added, referring to the Oslo Agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians in 1993, which includes Israel’s recognition of the Palestinians’ right to self-rule.
Regarding recent meetings held by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz with Palestinian officials, Bennett said, “They do not have the authority to act on the political issue.”
It is noteworthy that Bennett expressed on more than one occasion his categorical rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state, while the Palestinian Authority considered these statements “rejected and express a colonialist ideology that rejects peace.”
Since April 2014, negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides have been suspended, due to Tel Aviv’s refusal to stop settlements, release old detainees, and repudiate the two-state solution.