We’re not taking down settlements, says Gantz

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz stated that the occupation state is not taking down illegal settlements, saying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “is still dreaming of the 1967 lines.”

“[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas is still dreaming of the 1967 lines… This won’t happen. He has to realize we’re staying there… We’re not taking down settlements,” Gantz told Foreign Policy in an interview published on Tuesday.

While he expressed his support for “need[ing] two political entities here,” he was not quoted as using the term “state” to describe the Palestinian state.

Moreover, Gantz said the occupation state would not dismantle any of its West Bank illegal settlements.

It was the first time Gantz vocalized his opposition for calls to stop the expansion of illegal settlements. Nonetheless, he insisted that maintaining ties with Abbas and the PA are “a value of the highest importance.”

The two held a meeting in Ramallah last month, after which Gantz announced a series of small gestures aimed at improving Palestinian livelihood.

But Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett still sits at the top of the government and has made clear that he won’t even meet Abbas.

On Tuesday, Bennett said he sees no reason for him to meet with Abbas, while 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 in Israeli jails.

“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.”

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