MK Aryeh Eldad’s (National Union) goal as a politician is to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, he told Arutz Sheva on Wednesday.
“I’m happy that I was able to put an alternative plan, that says that Jordan is Palestine, on the political map,” said Eldad, who has been a member of Knesset for nearly ten years, after previously heading the plastic surgery and burns unit at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
He said that the “Jordan is Palestine” idea “can happen tomorrow morning if the so-called Arab Spring reaches Jordan and the Hashemite kingdom falls. I can tell myself that I did everything I could to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state and save the State of Israel.”
Referring to the upcoming Knesset elections in January, Eldad criticized the intentions of people who committed crimes while in office to return to the political arena. These include Aryeh Deri in Shas, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Kadima and former MK Tzachi Hanegbi, who has announced his plans to return to the Likud.
“The phenomenon of people who committed crimes in the public arena, the fact that they not only want to come back but that they are accepted by a great majority in the public as legitimate candidates – that’s a shame on Israeli politics,” he said. “The Knesset is not a rehabilitation center for criminals. The fact that they are accepted is unacceptable to me and many others who want to see honest people running Israeli politics.”
Referring to recent speculation that he and National Union MK Michael Ben-Ari will run on a separate Knesset list and not as part of a joint National Union-Jewish Home list, Eldad called for political unity.
“I hope that in the next election, the whole National Union as one entity will join the Jewish Home and will form a new faction in the Knesset,” he said. “Our polls say that only this combination can give us a little more than eight seats. All other options are far less desirable. If we are divided, we’ll all be very weak. If we unite, we’ll be stronger.”
He added, “This is what I want. I want to be part of the National Union in the next Knesset in the place that I deserve to have according to my proportional power.”
Ben-Ari has expressed concern that a joint list with the Jewish Home would place him in an unrealistic spot to be in the next Knesset. National Union chairman MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz has assured Ben-Ari and Eldad that they will have realistic positions.
“I hope that at the last moment the declaration of unity will not reflect a deep split in the national camp,” said Eldad, adding that he believes the split in the National Union is repairable.
“We have at least one month before the final decision,” he said, adding, “In the current Knesset we had four MKs, and the Jewish Home had three. They could take the Jewish Home into the government and ignore us, and none of the parties really achieved any significant achievement. I’m sure that if we are eight it will be much more difficult for Netanyahu to ignore this power.”