Rabin never backed Palestinian statehood, Ya’alon claims
In Washington, defense minister says that while Israel extends its hand in peace, Arab leaders incite and spread lies
Adiv Sterman is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Monday highlighted late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s opposition to the realization of Palestinian statehood, stressing that while Rabin pursued peace and regional stability, he was nevertheless acutely aware of the complex challenges facing the Jewish state and determined to never compromise on its security.
“When he brought the Oslo Accords to the Knesset for approval, Yitzhak [Rabin] did not flinch,” Ya’alon said at a memorial event in Washington, DC, to mark the 20th anniversary of the late prime minister’s assassination.
“He knew we had to firmly protect our security interests, in order to ensure peace and security for the citizens of Israel,” he said.
Ya’alon further added that Rabin had always been suspicious of the Palestinian leadership’s true intentions and would not accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the entire West Bank.
“In [Rabin’s] speech to the Knesset bringing [the second Oslo accord] to be approved, he emphasized that in a permanent agreement, ‘The Palestinian entity will be less than a state,’” the defense minister said.
“Rabin was consistent on this issue. In another speech he gave in 1974, he said: ‘A Palestinian state in the West Bank will be the beginning of the end of the State of Israel’… In [another] speech to the Knesset, one month prior to his assassination, he illustrated the borders of the Palestinian entity in the permanent agreement, and said, ‘We will not return to the June 4, 1967 lines,’ because they are indefensible,” Ya’alon recalled.
Commenting on a spate of stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks carried out by Palestinian terrorists in Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks, Ya’alon said that Israel truly hoped to achieve peace in the region, and asserted that claims aimed at riling up potential assailants and at undermining the state’s legitimacy were patently false.
“In recent weeks, Israel has faced an intense wave of terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians, who have been driven by incitement and lies against the State of Israel,” he said.
“This is an opportunity to say it again, loud and clear: We extend our hand in peace to our Palestinian neighbors. The State of Israel is not violating the status quo on the Temple Mount, whatsoever. This is a lie. We uphold freedom of religion and respect the beliefs of every person,” declared Ya’alon.
The Temple Mount compound, which has been at the center of the recent spike in unrest, houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and was the site of two ancient Jewish temples. The site is sacred to both Jews and Muslims. Israel has repeatedly denied persistent Palestinian allegations to the effect that it seeks to change the arrangements at the site in order to allow Jews to pray there.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the Knesset during a special session honoring Rabin, blamed the failure of peace talks on the Palestinians’ refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish state to exist.
“There is a profound reason why we didn’t achieve peace,” said Netanyahu, who, as Likud leader, was a vocal opponent of the Oslo Accords during the last Rabin government. “[The Palestinians] aren’t prepared to recognize once and for all the national state of the Jewish people, they are not truly prepared to end the conflict and give up the dream of returning to Haifa, Jaffa and Acre.”
Reiterating points he had made earlier in the day — during a ceremony at Rabin’s graveside on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl — Netanyahu said Israel is combating “incitement and terror with all our strength.
“We all know: Peace needs to be anchored in security,” Netanyahu told lawmakers, past and present, and Rabin’s family in the Knesset gallery. “We need to negate the hope of the Palestinians and all our enemies, who one day will subdue us with the force of the sword. Will we forever live by the sword? If we loosen our grip on what’s ours, their sword will vanquish us.
“Rabin understood this well. He was a realistic leader, he didn’t blame ourselves for terrorism, he was utterly devoid of self-flagellation,” he said.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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