Labor’s No.2, ex-general Tal Russo, refuses to say whether he supports two-state solution

The Labor Party’s new security figure and number two on its Knesset slate, retired general Tal Russo, refuses to say whether he backs a two-state solution, repeatedly ignoring questions about his stance on security and diplomatic issues.

Speaking to reporters after Labor presented its list of candidates to the Central Elections Committee, Russo said the party “has a lot of offer the public based on a true ideology.”

Asked what he own ideology was, Russo said he “agreed totally” with the party, but refused to say whether he supported land concessions for peace or the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Asked at least 12 times whether he supported a two-state solution, the brawny former head of the IDF’s Southern Command appeared shocked into silence, only eventually saying, “I tell you, political journalists are a lot tougher than military reporters.”

Seeking to bolster the once-dominant Labor Party’s security credentials in an attempt to regain lost support, party chair Avi Gabbay named Russo as number two on the party’s electoral slate for the April election, promising that Labor will “place security above all else.”

— Raoul Wootliff