BICOM

Israel’s Finance Minister and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid yesterday clarified his support for immediate negotiations towards a two-state solution following an interview with the New York Times in which he appeared to support positions opposed by members of his own party.

Speaking at a meeting of his Knesset faction, Lapid said yesterday “Whoever thinks we can have peace without a two-state solution is mistaken” and that Israel and the Palestinian must reconvene talks “even if it’s controversial here, and even if it is hard to trust the Palestinians.”

In an interview with the New York Times published yesterday, Lapid’s first interview with a major international media title since taking office, the Yesh Atid leader expressed commitment to furthering bilateral talks with the Palestinians, saying that he would “be proactive about this and do everything in [his] power to contribute to the discourse.” He suggested that an interim Palestinian state should be established in areas of the West Bank currently under Palestinian Authority control while a timeline is set for a permanent peace accord.

However, Lapid appeared to anger some of his own parliamentarians by saying that although he recognises that remote West Bank settlements will need to be removed, he would not stop the “natural expansion” of larger settlements and that Jerusalem should not be divided as part of a peace deal. His comments were criticised by Yesh Atid’s faction head Ofer Shelah, who said “Any intelligent person knows there won’t be an agreement with the Palestinians without [dividing] Jerusalem.” However, Shelah was keen to add “I joined Yesh Atid because it has a variety of opinions, and I think others did, too.” Yesh Atid MK Ronen Hoffman added that the party supports “a two-state solution and immediate peace talks without preconditions.”