MK Benny Elon
Photo: Haim Tzach
Rightist MK wants Israel to annex West Bank
Benny Elon says Israel should annex West Bank and allow Palestinians to stay if they agree to become Jordanian citizens
National Union-NRP chairman MK Benny Elon proposed on Sunday that Israel annex the West Bank and that the Palestinians be allowed to remain there on the condition that they become Jordanian citizens.
During a Jerusalem press conference, Elon unveiled a new political plan named 'The Israeli Initiative' which he touted as being based on "a new way of thinking that allows for real peace."
Under the plan, hundreds of thousands of refugees living in the West Bank will get financial assistance to build new homes and the neglected camps they live in will be destroyed.
Elon said it was possible to convince King Abdullah II of Jordan to accept the plan, whose details would be finalized between Israel and Jordan.
"The establishment of the State of Israel did not deprive the Palestinians of their state – there never was such a state," Elon said. "But Israel took from them their houses and their dignity. We can return to the Palestinians their dignity, to give them homes, and hope for a new life by changing the refugee status."
Elon said the UN Relief and Works Agency in the territories had failed and should be dismantled. He accused the agency of "perpetuating the refugee problem" by extending aid instead of conceiving long-term solutions.
Elon said he raised $ 1 million for a campaign to promote his initiative, in which he says senior US officials have shown interest.
"I am starting a long path today, which is beyond politics," Alon said. "I will not relent. We will create the means necessary to convince the Israeli public and politicians … As citizen and a Jew, I am concerned that people see no light at the end of the tunnel and that they no longer believe in peace and justice after the failure of the Oslo Accords and the disengagement."
