- The Media Line - https://themedialine.org -

Israeli Defense Minister Raises Eyebrows with Suggestion of Unilateral Withdrawal

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak raised eyebrows from Jerusalem to Ramallah and no doubt in Washington as well when he told a conference on Wednesday that Israel should consider “unilateral action” – widely read as a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank similar to the 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip — if the stalemate with the Palestinians continues. Sources inside the Palestinian Authority indicate officials are trying to decide whether Barak’s comment is sensational rhetoric or a trial balloon that portends a policy sea-change. As the stalemate continues, more Palestinian voices are warning that the “one-state solution” many Israelis fear as demographic suicide will replace the two-state solution if there is no movement; while suggestions about unilateral actions such as the one Barak made are becoming more frequent on the Israeli side.