Speech at UN General Assembly
Lapid for independent Palestinian state
09/22/2022, 10:51 p.m
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Israel’s prime minister supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The only condition: the terror must end. At home, Lapid’s proposal is making waves.
Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid spoke before the United Nations in favor of establishing an independent Palestinian state. However, the condition for this is that such a state must be peaceful, Lapid told the UN General Assembly in New York. “Peace is not a compromise, it is the bravest decision we can make.” Israel strives for peace with the entire Arab world.
A majority of Israelis are in favor of a two-state solution, said the head of government. “I’m one of them.” A future Palestinian state “must not become another terrorist base”. Israel wants to live in peace and security. Lapid also reached out to the people of the blocked Gaza Strip, offering to build their economy together. “We have only one condition: stop shooting rockets at our children, put down your guns.” One could then “build a common future in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank”.
In Israel, even before Lapid’s speech, criticism of the idea had been voiced, both from the opposition and from the right wing of his coalition. On November 1, Israel will elect a new parliament. The right-wing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, a former head of government, is aiming for a comeback.
Iran warning
Israel and the Palestinians signed the first peace treaty in 1993. After that, Palestinian self-government was established in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. The Islamist Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. The Palestinians had hoped that the peace agreement with Israel would lead to an independent state in the long term. However, negotiations on a permanent peace settlement have been idle since 2014. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians are demanding the areas for their own state – with East Jerusalem as the capital.
In his speech, Lapid also warned against Iran’s nuclear armament, which he described as a “murderous dictatorship”. The only solution is a credible military threat and negotiating a “longer and better deal” with Tehran.