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Netanyahu calls for a demilitarized Palestinian state

Palestinians should not be “citizens of Israel or subjects of Israel,” Netanyahu told NPR, advocating a Palestinian entity with “nearly all the powers [of sovereignty], but not the ones of security.”

By: JNS.org

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he does not want Palestinians to become Israeli citizens or subjects of Israel. This development comes a few days after the leader’s speech at the annual U.N. General Assembly.

“I don’t want them either as citizens of Israel or subjects of Israel,” Netanyahu said in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), which was scheduled to air on Monday.

“But I think  . . . we have a third model at the very least, which is what I’m talking about: basically, all the powers of sovereignty, or nearly all the powers, but not the ones of security,” he continued. “Look, in the Middle East, which is littered with failed states, that’s often the best you can do.”

Netanyahu added that the Palestinians should look no further than the entity they are under.

“They would have those rights in their own territory,” he said. “In other words, they have their own parliament, they have their own government, they have their own flag, they have their own anthem, they have their own tax system.”

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In his speech in New York, among the issues addressed, Netanyahu blasted the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas.

“President Abbas, you proudly pay Palestinian terrorists who murder Jews,” said Netanyahu. “In fact, the more they slay, the more you pay. That’s in their law, too. And you condemn Israel’s morality? You call Israel racist?”

“This is not the way to peace. This is not the way to achieve the peace we all want and need and to which Israel remains committed,” added the prime minister. “This body should not be applauding the head of a regime that pa