Gideon Sa’ar: Netanyahu agreed to ‘two state illusion’

“Even Netanyahu has made countless overtures to [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas," Sa'ar stated.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Likud MK Gideon Sa'ar speaks at the International Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s conference in Jerusalem, December 15, 2019 (photo credit: SIVAN FARAG)
Likud MK Gideon Sa'ar speaks at the International Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s conference in Jerusalem, December 15, 2019
(photo credit: SIVAN FARAG)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered concessions to the Palestinians, even though they are uninterested in peace talks, Likud leadership candidate MK Gideon Sa’ar said on Sunday at the International Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s conference in Jerusalem.
“Countless Israeli governments have tried to further this idea of a two-state solution, and it has never been met by anything other than Palestinian rejection,” he stated. “Even Netanyahu has made countless overtures to [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas. He gave the Bar-Ilan Speech [expressing willingness for the Palestinians to have a demilitarized state]. He froze building in the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.”
However, Sa’ar recounted, “The Palestinians never even sat to seriously negotiate. They are not interested in ending the conflict. They are only interested in teaching their children to kill Jews with rocks, cars, knives, guns, bombs and rockets. Abbas knows the truth: that after decades of incitement and brainwashing, the Palestinians are not ready to accept peace with Israel.”
Sa’ar told the former and current senior politicians from Australia, the UK and Israel participating in the conference that the two-state solution did not represent a solution to the conflict, and that adherence to this paradigm threatened a deterioration in the situation.
“Around the world, the words ‘two-state solution’ remain a kind of ‘certificate of acceptance.’ I have to tell you this is not a helpful position. It is not a helpful position because the two-state solution is not a solution. It is a two-state illusion,” he stated. “The idea of another failed Arab state in the heart of the Land of Israel is not acceptable in any way. Will the addition of such a state bring us closer to peace? No, it will make the dream of peace, even further away.”
Sa’ar spoke out against territorial concessions, noting that land ceded by Israel was always filled by terrorist groups who sought Israel’s destruction.
“Is Israel more secure after withdrawing from Gaza?” he asked. “With a million Israeli citizens living in bomb shelters?”
The Likud leadership candidate also stressed that Jerusalem must never be divided.
Sa’ar called for a regional solution in which Jordan would also participate.
“I will stand firm on the rights of the Jewish people in our homeland – and I will never compromise the security of our people,” Sa’ar vowed. “Between the river and the sea there will not be any other sovereign state other than Israel. We cannot surrender our security, our future, the future of our children. This needs to be the base for any future realistic negotiations for the peace and future of the region.”