Habayit Hayehudi MK Naftali Bennett caused a ruckus Monday when he declared the idea of a 2-state solution “pointless.”  Speaking at a Yesha Council meeting, he stated that negotiations had reached an impasse and it was time to put the concept behind us and “build, build, build.”  His statements resulted in speculations regarding the party’s continued alliance with Yesh Atid.

“Never has so much time been invested in something so pointless,” he said. “We need to build, build, build. If the money spent on caviar in cocktail parties dealing with the idea of a Palestinian state would have been used for building interchanges (in the territories) – everything would be different.”

He pointed out that there has never been a sovereign Palestinian state in the disputed territories, and that all of Israel is the Jewish homeland.  He questioned the term “occupation,” asking how one can “occupy” one’s own homeland.  This was in response to comments last week by Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah, who claimed that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was a corrupting influence on Israeli society.  Tzipi Livni also condemned Bennett’s statements.

MK Bennett echoed sentiments expressed last week by deputy defense minister Danny Danon.  MK Danon expressed, in an interview with The Times Of Israel, that the current government would move to block any vote calling for a Palestinian state to be established.  Despite PM Netanyahu’s repeated commitments to negotiations, Danon claimed “there is no majority for a two-state solution.”

For his part, Bennett believes any negotiations that have taken place in the past are completely detached from the reality on the ground.  “There are 400,000 Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria, and another 250,000 in eastern Jerusalem,” he noted. “More than 10% of the residents of Israel live in what is called the Green Line. The attempt to establish a Palestinian state inside our land is over.”