Palestinians will have ‘entity’ instead of state: Israeli defense minister

JERUSALEM (AA) – Palestinians will have an entity in the future instead of a state, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.

“Eventually we will find ourselves in a two-entity solution, in which we respect Palestinian sovereignty and governance, but we will be respected for our security needs,” Gantz said at the Munich Security Conference this week.

Asked by moderators to clarify his choice of words by using “entity” instead of “state”, Gantz said a “two-state solution takes us to a former framework. It’s a phrase that gives the illusion of [a return to]1967 with the borderlines … things that cannot happen.”

“This is why I said two-entity solution,” Gantz said. “We would verify with one another how we can ensure Palestinian rights on one hand while safeguarding Israel’s security needs on the other.”

The defense minister said Palestinians and Israelis “cannot ignore” each other’s existence, underlining the need for both sides to “take historic decisions” and “find ways of living with one another” in a way that reflects “the realities on the ground.”

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar