Israeli PM says Palestinian state a “terrible mistake”

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israeli occupation Prime Minister stated on Tuesday that he sees no reason for him to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he opposes a Palestinian state.

Despite a number of high-level contacts between Israel’s new government and the PA, Bennett, speaking to the Kan public broadcaster as part of a series of interviews he gave to Israeli news outlets, cited the PA’s pursuit of war crimes charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and continued payment of monthly stipends to political prisoners.

“I don’t see any logic in meeting someone who is suing IDF soldiers at The Hague and accusing them of war crimes, and at the same time paying salaries to terrorists,” Bennett told the Kan public broadcaster. “I don’t see the logic in meeting him.”

In March, the ICC’s chief prosecutor announced that she was opening an investigation into war crimes committed by the Israsli occupation in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem since June 13, 2014.

It was at the request of the Palestinian Authority to The Hague that led to the opening of the probe.

Bennett told American Jewish leaders earlier this month that he won’t meet with Abbas, citing the PA chief’s decision to bring ‘Israel’ before the ICC.

The off-the-record call with leaders from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations came days after Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Abbas in Ramallah, in the first high-level face-to-face talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials in over a decade.

Asked on Tuesday about the meeting’s significance in terms of the new government’s policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians, Bennett reiterated his belief that no political breakthrough was possible in the near future, maintaining his long-standing position that there should not be a Palestinian state.

“I oppose a Palestinian state — I think it would be a terrible mistake,” he said. “I won’t do that.”

At the same time, Bennett said, he agreed with Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz’s approach of maintaining ties and connections with Palestinian officials in order to maintain calm and security coordination.

But, he added, there is no current possibility of restarting peace talks with the Palestinians.

“We all understand that at the moment it’s not relevant,” he said.