“Give the Palestinians the right to vote for the Knesset”
“Palestinians must be granted full citizenship, equality, investment in
infrastructure in communities and voting rights in the Knesset,” proposes MK
Zevulun Kalfa from the Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party.
You might have thought this to be a proposal from the left-wing of Israeli
politics, however, surprisingly, it comes from the right – which can fit
well with the opinion of MKs from the Arab parties – and was born out of his
ideology, which opposes a two-state solution.
MK Kalfa urges Israel to determine by law that there is only one state
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, and all the inhabitants of
the Land of Israel, in his words, are residents of Israel. This would,
thereby, remove from the global agenda the argument that Israel
discriminates against its Arab residents or practices a policy of apartheid.
Incidentally, Naftali Bennett, chairman of Kalfa’s party, is the head of the
only faction in the current coalition which opposes a two-state solution,
but is offering the Palestinians limited autonomy to manage their own
affairs, and not the annexation of the Palestinian population and granting
conditions as offered by MK Kalfa.
Kalfa stated: “It is clearly forbidden to follow the two-state solution. I
favor one state for all. Palestinians? They didn’t exist and do not exist,
even today.”
Kalfa, a former resident of Gush Katif settlement Atzmona, has had to
respond to the primary argument of his opponents who say that his proposal
would mean that Israel will not remain a Jewish state, and will lose its
purpose and uniqueness. He said, “Either way the Jews will remain the
majority in the country.”
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