Naftali Bennett
Photo courtesy of Yesha spokesman
Watch Israeli-Iranian debate on CNN
PM's former chief of staff Naftali Bennett takes on Ahmadinejad's former adviser during discussion on nuclear threat
Israel's Naftali Bennett,
former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
faced off against Iranian writer and former adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
Hooman Majd, in a CNN debate last week.
Bennett, who is also a former Yesha Council director, met with United States politicians and media officials, and made an appearance both on CNN and MSNBC.
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During his CNN debate, Iran's Majd claimed Tehran never said it wanted to annihilate Israel. In response, Bennett quoted a number of Ahmadinejad's statements proving otherwise.
Bennett's intention was to clarify to the word that Iran is a global problem and not particular to Israel. Iran endangers world peace, he claimed, and there is a strong desire among both Democrats and Republicans to avoid any US involvement in another war.
Bennett said that everyone, including Obama, understands that Iran's nuclear program is intended for military use and not for peace. He added that Netanyahu is highly valued among almost all leaders and is doing a great job in recruiting world support.
Bennett remarked that everyone, with almost no exception, had said that if they were Israeli they would not agree in any way to put their fate in the hands of another country. He added that the popular belief is that if needed, the US will support Israel.
'Annexation' plan
The Israeli official arrived in the US last week to promote a new initiative meant to conquer the prolonged stalemate plaguing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
His plan aims to tackle Israeli sovereignty. While the Oslo Accords divided the West Bank into three areas of control: Area A, under full Palestinian control; Area B, under joint Israeli-Palestinian security control and Area C – under full Israeli security control, Bennett suggested imposing full Israeli sovereignty over Area C, which constitutes 62% of the territory, unilaterally.
As for the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Bennett asserted that it is a "dead issue." He claimed it no longer interests anyone. When he tried to pitch his plan, Bennett claimed he was cut off and told that no one in the US cares about it, which only motivated him to do what is right for Israel and not worry about the responses.
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