Minister: Empty West Bank Area C of Palestinians, annex it | The Times of Israel

9.6.16

Minister: Empty West Bank Area C of Palestinians, annex it | The Times of Israel: In an interview with The Times of Israel on Tuesday, Ariel (Jewish Home), the agriculture minister, also said the Israeli right is unconcerned over recent peace overtures by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since they will eventually come to nothing. Nonetheless, Ariel, who opposes Palestinian statehood, complained that by invoking a desire for a two-state solution, Netanyahu is fueling the notion held by many Israelis that the creation of a Palestinian state is inevitable.

Rather than Palestinian statehood, Ariel urged the annexation of Area C and said NIS 10 billion (some $2.6 billion) should be poured into the other Palestinian areas to drastically improve the local population’s quality of life.

“We have to aspire to the annexation of Area C; these are areas where there are no Arabs at all,” Ariel said. “We would remove a few thousand, who do not constitute a significant numerical factor,” he added. Ariel did not specify how those Palestinians would be removed, or where they would be relocated.