The Palestinian president warned on Friday that Benjamin Netanyahu's expected victory in next week's election could lead to an Arab-majority country that will eventually replace what is now Israel – unless he pursues a more moderate path of a two-state solution to the conflict.
Mohammed Ishtayeh, a top aide to Abbas, said that the president has been warning that Israel could end up with "an apartheid-style state, similar to the one of former South Africa."
Israeli backers of creation of a Palestinian state say relinquishing control of the Palestinian territories and its residents is the only way to ensure Israel's future as a democracy with a Jewish majority.
If that does not happen, Ishtayeh said, "we Palestinians will be the majority and will struggle for equality. He added that Abbas has told the Israelis that "there are Palestinians who are now calling for the one-state solution, because they no longer [consider] the two-state solution viable."
President Abbas has been careful not to intervene in Tuesday's Israeli election, but it is no secret that the Palestinians hope that Netanyahu will either be ousted or at least soften his position in a new term. He has shown no sign of doing so, and opinion polls showing hardline, pro-settlement parties well ahead days ahead of the vote have led to a sense of despair among the Palestinians.
During Netanyahu's current term, the Israeli leader has pressed forward with construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The international community considers settlement construction illegal or illegitimate. And the Palestinians have refused to negotiate with Netanyahu while he continues to allow settlements to be built, saying it is a sign of bad faith.
Read more at Haaretz News
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