Israel's Lapid says seeks to separate from Palestinians

By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Wednesday that Tel Aviv's goal is to separate from the Palestinians.

“I think, and have always thought, that we need to separate ourselves from the Palestinians," Lapid said in an interview with Israel’s Arabic language news outlets.

As for his speech at the UN last month in which he said he supports the two-state solution, Lapid said "the whole world needed to hear it.”

“It is important to put on the table that the Prime Minister believes in a two-state solution for two peoples.”

Lapid said he will not abandon Israel’s vital and security interests, including a "unified Jerusalem" and the rejection of the return of Palestinian refugees.

Lapid said he intends to amend the Nation-State law if he is re-elected prime minister.

"I oppose the Nation-State law and I think it should be changed and a section of civil equality added to it. There were talks about this, that a section be added to the basic law: human dignity and freedom," he added.

The Nation-State law, approved in 2018, defines Israel as a Jewish state with a “united Jerusalem” as its capital.

It has also promoted Hebrew as the only official language, stripping Arabic as an official language while recognizing its “special status”.

The legislation risks further alienating the Arab minority who complain of discrimination from Israeli Jews and the government and already feel as though they are second-class citizens.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar