'Israel has no answer to protesters amassing on borders'

Following Naksa Day border clashes, Labor MK Ben-Eliezer warns that September could bring terrible scenes to Israel; blames Netanyahu.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
ben eliezer writing 311 (photo credit: Eli Neeman)
ben eliezer writing 311
(photo credit: Eli Neeman)
Israel has no answer to protesters amassing on its borders and any attempt to explain its actions to the world is a lost cause, Labor MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said in an interview with Israel Radio on Monday, following the events of Naksa Day on the Syrian frontier.
Hundreds of Palestinian rioters repeatedly tried to infiltrate Israel throughout Sunday in two locations on the Syrian border, but were rebuffed by the IDF. Syrian television claimed 23 activists were killed, and 350 were wounded, in the clashes to commemorate the Palestinian “Naksa,” or “setback” in Six Day War, although the numbers could not be verified. The incident came after 14 people were killed in a series of clashes between IDF soldiers and Arab protesters on Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon last month on "Nakba Day," supposedly by shots fired by IDF troops in an effort to hinder a wide scale breach of its borders.
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Ben-Eliezer warned that September will bring terrible scenes to Israel as well, and will probably cause economic damage to the country. The Palestinians plan to seek recognition of a state from the United Nations Security Council in September, a move which some fear may be followed by violence.
The Labor MK said that the only solution to Israel's present troubles was to recognize a Palestinian state and to begin immediate negotiations toward a two-state solution with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas without preconditions.
Ben-Eliezer criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government, claiming it has no interest in implementing change, and that it has made all the mistakes possible to lead Israel to disaster.