Israeli Minister Says Government Needs To Move Fast On Two State Solution
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 1:03PM
A member of the Israeli cabinet says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to begin serious talks with Palestinians about a two-state solution, but also has to take measures to ensure Israeli-Arabs enjoy the same rights as other Israelis. Avishay Braverman, Israel’s Minister of Minority Affairs, told a news conference in New York that the current situation in Israel is unsustainable, and the window of opportunity for a two-state solution is slowly closing. Braverman is a Labor party representative in the Netanyahu coalition government.
Israeli Arabs represent over 20% of the population and have one of the highest birth rates in country but are often excluded fom Israel’s economic growth, with nearly half the population living in poverty and depending on a comparatively weak social infrastrucure. Braverman says no Prime Minister since Itzack Rabin has successfully reached out to this population, but that the issue can no longer be ignored. “This issue is not only just, it is also wise. Its not only good for the Arabs, its good for the Jews, so you do not have 20% of the people as adversaries.”
Likud party leader and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has over the past year proposed several higly controversial measures concerning Arab citizenship in Israel, one which would require Arabs to take a loyalty oath to the State, but Braverman says the measures would never be accepted and accused Lieberman of damaging the delicate relationship between Israeli Jews and Arabs in order to pander to his political constituency.
Braverman says that contrary to popular belief, the most recent polls and studies show that the majority of Israel’s Arabs want to be citizens and participate in the state, but that Arab-Israeli leaders and Israel’s political parties have refused to engage with each other on the issue for the last decade.
Braverman says he is working on several programs to combat Arab economic inequality within Israel, but admits that addressing the social integration issue has proven to be much more difficult and requires “creative” solutions. Exchange programs between Arab and Israeli students have been successful in promoting integration in some communities but they remain unfeasible in others because of the persisting mistrust and lack of communication. ” The dilemma is that the Jews do not know the Arabs. Many of them think when they see something in the news about traitors, that many of them are Fifth Column or terrorist.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Obama last week and Braverman says he is pleased they had a positive meeting, but now expects the Prime Minister and Palestinian Leader Mahmud Abbas to begin direct negotiations in the next few months. “Both have to step up to the plate. Right now there is a positive climate, but climate is insufficient and actions are called for”
Obstacles to the two-state solution
Both speakers called for policy changes on both sides. Gen. Paz suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will want strong guidelines from the U.S. as the coalition government he will form will most likely be right-wing and oppose a two-state solution. Furthermore, he stated that Hamas is an obstacle to this process, and ideally Abbas will be given an opportunity to create a Palestinian unity government.
al-Omari stated that Israel must allow for more freedom of movement in the Palestinian territories and remove some checkpoints. Furthermore, he believes that while Hamas must be isolated, the people of Gaza should not suffer; humanitarian aid, he stated, cannot be politicized. He believes that on the Palestinian side, there needs to be a new government that is committed to reforms in security and counterterrorism.