Gideon Levy
Gideon LevyPhoto: Shalev Shalom / TPS

Leftist journalist Gideon Levy said at the B'sheva Conference that for him, talk of a Palestinian state is irrelevant, and even claimed that discourse around a 'two-state solution' only serves the goals of the 'settlers'.

"There are close to 700,000 settlers, including in East Jerusalem," Levy explained. "With 700,000 settlers in the area, no such country [can come into existence]."

"The dream of a Palestinian state, of [Israel being] divided into two states, has vanished," he added, clarifying: "It pains me to say it, but it must be said here and especially abroad, so that people start moving away from the idea."

Levy went on to say that he demanded the conversation around a two-state solution come to an end, because, in his opinion, anyone discussing it is "playing into the hands of the settlers. "Anyone who thinks of it as a [realistic] solution to be taken down from a shelf and used when convenient has clearly not been here long enough to understand that this approach plays into the settlers' hands," he said.

Regarding concerns raised at the conference regarding Palestinian Authority takeover of Area C, Levy said: "I think the talk of an ongoing catastrophe is tactical, extortionate, and very, very effective. We need to calm down, though - everyone concerned already owns that land anyway."

"Now we will start a new struggle," he concluded, "Are we living in a democracy or an apartheid state? And I repeat - there is no third option and there will never be one."