Nobel laureate: Gaza pullout won’t bring peace
Professor Israel Aumann criticizes government policy with settlers; says territorial concessions won’t bring peace, Arab neighbors will never relinquish dream of destroying Israel
Herzliya Conference: Nobel Prize Laureate for Economics, Professor Israel Aumann, took the stage at the Herzliya Conference on the Balance of Israel’s National Security and leveled criticism at the government’s mistreatment of settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
“I am sorry for the evacuees’ condition, the unemployment, the delays in government compensation packages, and the unbearable situation they are in,” Aumann said.
Aumann described the settlers as “principled” and “from the salt of the earth.”
Aumann described the dire condition of most past Gaza settlers, many of whom remain in hotels. “They are not enemies, they are not lawbreakers, they are creative people who established a great settlement enterprise, and the government ruined their lives and no one cares. The media is turning a blind eye,” he said.
Aumann condemned the Oslo Accords, namely Israel’s failure in pressing the Palestinian Authority to eradicate incitement against Israelis and Jews in schools and the media, a central clause in the 1993 agreement.
The Nobel Laureate warned of the dangers of a young Palestinian generation raised on Israel’s hatred, a threat greater than terror and Qassam attacks.
Aumann said Israel’s Arab neighbors will never relinquish the dream of destroying Israel, which is incessantly seeking peace. He added that Israel’s drive to seek peace as soon as possible is playing in its disadvantage, as peace will come with patience.
