Meretz head: Oslo was not a mistake
Gal-On tells Ynet if two-state solution not achieved soon, 'we will find ourselves in binational state'; says Rabin would be 'embarrassed' by Labor's current agenda
Meretz said it would call for the annulment of the Oslo Accords, but the party's chairwoman is still convinced it did not err or mislead the public when it supported the agreement.
"We did not lie; whoever was in power thought he could use Oslo as (an excuse) for the diplomatic stalemate," Zahava Gal-On said during an interview at Ynet's studio on Wednesday.
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Gal-On said the fact that the peace process was still based on the Olso Accords hindered its progress and delayed the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. "This is why we thought of suggesting a new model," she said. The leftist party calls for replacing the Olso Accords with a "type of interim agreement that provides solutions to all of the issues at hand."
Video courtesy of jn1.tv
Gal-On told Ynet that as opposed to the Right, Meretz is proposing an alternative to the Oslo Accords. "I don't think Oslo was a mistake; it was everything that happened later that was problematic. In Oslo it was determined that a Palestinian state would be established within five years. Twenty years have passed – so it's irrelevant. Many mistakes were made on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and we cannot forget the terror attacks that were carried out here. The reality has changed," she argued.
'Diplomatic dreamworld.' Gal-On at Ynet's studio (Photo: Yaron Brenner)
Gal-On warned that "if we do not achieve a two-state solution during this period in which there still exists a window of opportunity of sorts, we will find ourselves in a binational state."
Addressing the claim that there is no Palestinian partner for peace, the Meretz leader said "I don't think there is a partner on the Israeli side. (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu? (Former Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman? (Labor chairwoman Shelly) Yachimovich? (Hatnua leader Tzipi) Livni? She came out against Yachimovich and claimed that (the Labor chairwoman) was 'living in a diplomatic dreamworld in which there are no Palestinians, settlers or occupation.' When Yachimovich announced her diplomatic-security manifesto this week without mentioning the words peace, evacuation and settlements – this means the Labor party is living in a dreamworld.
"(Yitzhak) Rabin would have been embarrassed by the direction his party is heading," Gal-On claimed. "It is important to talk about the cost of living and social justice, but you cannot talk about social justice without talking about a diplomatic agreement."
The Meretz leader said Livni "destroyed the Left in 2009, took votes away from the Left, failed in forming a coalition and mainly failed as the leader of the opposition.
"Now she has dismantled the Left-Center bloc and is in essence preventing the formation of an alternative to Netanyahu. The public is not stupid. It won't make the same mistake twice," she told Ynet.
Gal-On predicted that her party will win seven Knesset seats in the January elections.
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