Lieberman: ‘Israel must give Gaza to Egypt, share West Bank with Jordan’

Leader of the right-wing opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party Avigdor Lieberman called on Friday for Egypt to control Gaza and for Israel and Jordan to share responsibility for the West Bank.

Lieberman shared in an interview with Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post: “In the future, Egypt should control Gaza, and Jordan should take charge of Area A of the West Bank and a small portion of Area B.”

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, Area A, which includes the cities of the West Bank, is under complete Palestinian control, Area B is subject to Palestinian civil and Israeli security control, while Area C is under full Israeli control and constitutes 60 per cent of the West Bank’s area.

Lieberman, who does not currently hold any government position and is not a partner in any established body, was explaining to the newspaper his vision for Israel’s borders without a Palestinian state.

“We understand that this idea of a two-state solution has died. It does not exist,” remarked Lieberman.

“We need another approach,” he added, noting that it is illogical to “do the same thing for many years and to expect different results.” Lieberman indicated that he now would want to return to the idea of “a confederation between Jordan and the Palestinians”.

Read: Israel Radio claims Tel Aviv close to reaching deal with Cairo to take control of Egypt-Gaza border area

According to the newspaper, Lieberman: “Recalled that Area C of the West Bank is divided into three sections. Areas A and B are under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority and Area C, where all the settlements are located, is under IDF military and civilian control.”

Under Liberman’s plan, all of Area A and a small portion of B would be under Jordanian control through a confederation, while Israel would apply sovereignty to the remainder of Area B and all of Area C, reported The Jerusalem Post.

“As one who has lived for many years in Judea and Samaria, a settler like [myself], realizes that every day the situation is worsening compared to what it was in 1993,” Lieberman said. “Abu Mazen (Abbas) and his people have lost control even in Ramallah. The time has come to tell the Palestinians that the idea is finished. You missed your opportunity.”

Lieberman expressed his opinion that Israel must sever all ties with Gaza, believing: “At the end of the day, the Egyptians should take control of the Gaza Strip as a mandate of the UN and the Arab League. We don’t have any other choice. All other proposals that I saw… are not realistic. They are mission impossible.”

According to the newspaper: “Liberman is particularly opposed to any plans for the Palestinian Authority to regain control of the enclave after the war.”