Israeli officials get furious over Gantz remarks on Jerusalem
Prominent Israeli officials get furious with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz for saying that Jerusalem has place for a Palestinian capital.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Gantz said, “Jerusalem must stay united, but it will have place for a Palestinian capital. It’s a vast city, filled with sites that are holy to all of us.”
Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Rafi Peretz wrote in a Twitter post that Jerusalem is the capital of the “Jewish people.”
“United Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people, not the capital of anyone else. This is where our forefathers walked and this is where we were created. Gantz, I know you enough to know you believe that, too.”
ירושלים המאוחדת היא בירתו הנצחית של העם היהודי. לא בירה של אף אחד אחר.
כאן התהלכו אבותינו וזהו כור מחצבתנו.גנץ, מההכרות שלי איתך, גם אתה מאמין בזה. @gantzbe pic.twitter.com/tGdhIPGJJ8
— רפי פרץ (@realrafiperets) December 17, 2020
Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, wrote on his Facebook page that Jerusalem was “the heart of the Land of Israel and the State of Israel, for which Jews longed during 2,000 years of exile. We were privileged to unite Jerusalem as the capital of Israel forever. There are not two Jerusalems and no one has the right to question our full right to it. No one has the right to forgo the dream of generations that came true.”
https://www.facebook.com/341448679281672/posts/3611016205658220/
Likud MK Nir Barkat also responded to Gantz on Twitter, saying that “Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the State of Israel.”
ירושלים היא בירה רק של מדינה אחת. בירת הנצח של העם היהודי, בירת מדינת ישראל. https://t.co/7f26nzxURE
— ניר ברקת (@NirBarkat) December 17, 2020
Gantz said that peace can’t be achieved in the Middle East without settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict first, adding that ‘Israel’ will not withdraw to pre-1967 borders but the sides can reach a compromise.
Gantz also called on the Palestinian leadership to be part of the peace process and normalize ties with Israel’ like the Arab countries and “not stay in the back rows.”
