Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Emphasizes “Right” Of Israelis To Live In Settlements

Thursday December 17, 2009 08:38 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

In a talk to the Zionist Organization of America on Sunday, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told the crowd that Jews should be able to live anywhere in what he called ‘Eretz Israel’, including the West Bank and Gaza. He said Israel will "not compromise on the right of Jews to live in any part of Eretz Yisrael."

Depopulated Palestinian village inside Israel (photo by gnuckx)

In his speech, Yaalon stated, "We do not accept that Arabs can live anywhere, whereas Jews may not live in some parts of Eretz Yisrael." His statement did not acknowledge the fact that Arabs cannot, in fact, ‘live anywhere’, as Israeli policy severely restricts the areas on which Palestinians can live. Their movement, too, is severely restricted, especially in the Gaza Strip, where no one is allowed to enter or leave since Israel closed the border in 2007.

Over 700,000 Palestinians were pushed off their land in what is now Israel in 1948, all of whom became refugees, and none of whom have been allowed to return.

Still, Yaalon was able to make his absurdly false claim that Arabs can live anywhere, while Jews are restricted in where they can live – when in fact the exact opposite is true.

Also speaking at the Zionist Association dinner was US Congressional Representative Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the minority whip of the House of Representatives, who stated, “Israel's security is synonymous with our own.”

israel | israeli settlement | news report saed at imemc dot org