MK Eitan Broshi (Zionist Union) on Tuesday addressed the firestorm that broke out over party chairman Avi Gabbay's remarks opposing the eviction of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria in a potential future peace deal with the Palestinian Authority.
MKs from the Zionist Union distanced themselves from Gabbay's comments. He refused to retract them earlier on Tuesday, insisting that his position is not an obstacle towards a future peace agreement.
"We see great importance in the settlement enterprise, as the ones who established communities in the Golan Heights, in the Jordan Valley, in the northern Dead Sea, in Gush Etzion and other places. We see importance in preserving the settlement enterprise, but the debate is not about whether we are evicting or not, but rather about whether we are striving towards a binational state or a compromise centered on concessions of parts of the homeland,” Broshi told Arutz Sheva.
"If there is one state here, then the whole debate does not matter to us. We in the Labor party understand that this would be the end of Zionism. That is not the state we envisioned, and not the state that was established by Ben Gurion and Rabin,” he continued.
“I think that any agreement with the Palestinians will require some sort of compromise. Whether in this arrangement the settlements will be able to exist or not, this will be discussed in due course. At the moment the question and the disagreement are over where to go. I am not sure that the two-state solution is the only possible solution, but there is certainly a disagreement as to whether we are going to a binational state or to a compromise in which we will divide the land. That's where the disagreement is [with the right],” added Broshi.
“Elkin, Levin, Shaked, Bennett and their colleagues are working to thwart the peace process and want one state. We, and in my opinion important parts of the right as well, want an arrangement. We want conditions that will allow for an arrangement. At this moment there is no need for any demolition of a military outpost or a community. If there is an arrangement, we will go into details. Until then, we are not evacuating but rather maintaining security.”
Broshi also commented on Gabbay's statement from Saturday, when he said he would not sit in a coalition with the Arab Joint List, whose members have continuously acted against the interests of the State of Israel.
"The Joint List disqualified itself because of its behavior. What will happen after the elections, I do not know. I can say that Gabbay is leading us to a better place, more to the center and not towards being Meretz B. We have members who are more like Meretz and I think they should consider their place in the party according to the policy of its leader,” he opined.