Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday told Israeli settlers marking 50 years since the Six-Day War he would keep building across the occupied West Bank and that no one would be ”uprooted from his home”.
It was unclear if Netanyahu was suggesting no settlements would be dismantled in any peace deal with the Palestinians, which would mark a significant change and raise further doubts over future possibilities of a two-state solution. A spokesman for Netanyahu did not respond to a request for further explanation.
Netanyahu was speaking in parliament at a special session marking 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel's occupation of the West Bank began, to an audience of lawmakers and invited settler leaders.
“Everyone has the right to live in his home and nobody will be uprooted from his home,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but peace advocates allege his actions show otherwise.
Proposals for future peace deals with the Palestinians typically involve land swaps, with far-flung settlements evacuated and larger settlement blocs remaining under Israeli control.