Bennett shoots back at peace confab hecklers

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett is being booed as he outlines his view of the Middle East conflict at the Israel Conference on Peace, which was organized by the Haaretz newspaper.

As Bennett, the chairman of the hawkish Jewish Home party, suggests that it is time to think outside the box and abandon the idea of an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, a small number of people in the audience shout “apartheid,” “murderer,” and other insults at the minister.

Bennett initially ignores the disruptions, but eventually loses patience. He lists several wars in which he served as IDF soldier, adding that no one in the audience has the right to lecture him on the desire for peace. “No one in this room wants peace more than me,” he says.

Stopping short of calling for the annexation of the West Bank, Bennett suffices by saying that Israeli withdrawals are an unwise move in this tough neighborhood, as Islamist extremists are just waiting to fill the void and obliterate the Jewish state.

“Yes, territory matters,” he says. “Why were no missiles launched from Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]? Because we control the territories. Territory does matter.”

Bennett, a member of the security cabinet, does not shed any light on the government’s plans regarding Operation Protective Edge.

— Raphael Ahren