By William Booth: A top Israeli minister said he wants the government to take complete control of more than half of the West Bank and remove the Palestinian residents of the territory. While traveling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a state visit to Russia on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel told the Times of Israel that the world should forget about a Palestinian state. “We have to aspire to the annexation of Area C; these are areas where there are no Arabs at all,” Ariel said. “We would remove a few thousand, who do not constitute a significant numerical factor.” According to the Oslo Accords, the West Bank is divided into three areas. Area C comprises more than 60 percent of the West Bank and is under complete Israeli military control, both for security and civil affairs. Estimates of the Palestinian population in Area C are a subject of mystery and debate. The United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinians reported that there were 297,500 Palestinians in Area C in 2014. An Israeli human rights group, Bimkom, estimates that 150,000 to 180,000 Palestinians live there. The Israeli military division that controls Area C gives an estimate of 50,000 Palestinians.
Area C — which covers about 1,300 square miles spread throughout the West Bank — is where the Jewish settlements are located. More than 350,000 Israelis live on 125 settlements and about 100 outposts. The international community calls the settlements illegal; the United States views them as illegitimate and obstacles to peace; the Israeli government disputes this characterization. Ariel is a longtime advocate for the settler movement and lives in a settlement, Kfar Adumim, east of Jerusalem. The Times of Israel did not reveal Ariel’s thinking on the method of transfer of Palestinians from Area C. “Ariel did not specify how those Palestinians would be removed, or where they would be relocated,” the media outlet reported. This is not the first time that Ariel has advocated annexing Area C. He has done so repeatedly. In January, Ariel said it was time to take full possession of the land. “If someone asks about Areas A and B, then their time will come. When, we will see,” Ariel said. “For now, let’s agree on Area C. There is more than 60 percent of the territory, with 50,000 Arabs. They do not pose a problem to the state of Israel.” Ariel is a leader of the hard-right faction in the Jewish Home party, which is a member of the government. Other Jewish Home leaders, such as Education Minister Naftali Bennett, also have urged annexing Area C but have not advocated the mass transfer of Palestinians out of the area. Depending on the annexation plan, the Palestinians would be offered Israeli citizenship or residency or be made the responsibility of Jordan, Bennett has said. These are not lone voices. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, supports annexation. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked wants to apply Israeli law to Area C, a step toward annexation. Ariel’s comments come as Netanyahu, the leader of the governing coalition, has been stressing that he supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians blasted Ariel’s comments. Jamal Dajani, a spokesman in the office of the Palestinian Authority prime minister, called the proposal "incitement" as well as “demeaning, racist and dehumanizing.”
Occupation 101
Voices Of The Silenced Majority
Award-winning documentary film on the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The film covers a wide range of topics -- which include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials from victims of this tragedy.
Featured Interviews
Dr. Albert Aghazarian
Director of Public Relations at Bier Ziet University. He is the most prominent Palestinian Armenian figure -- Headed press centre during Madrid conference.
Ambassador James Akins
Former (1963-1965) Attache at the US Embassy in Baghdad; Former (1973-1975) US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman
Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights - an organization of Israeli rabbis committed to defending the human rights of all people in Israel and in the territories under Israeli control.
Dr. William Baker
Former Professor of Ancient History and Biblical studies. Founder of Christians and Muslims for Peace.
Bishop Allen Bartlett, Jr.
Assisting Bishop (2001-2004) of the Diocese of Washington. The Episcopal Diocese of Washington comprises 93 Episcopal congregations in the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and Saint Mary's.
Phyllis Bennis
Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. An author, analyst, and activist on Middle East and UN issues. Helped found and co-chairs the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation.
Peter Boukaert
Director of Emergencies at Human Rights Watch -- the largest human rights organization based in the United States. He has conducted extensive fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in the West Bank (Israeli Occupied Territory).
Sharon Burke
Former Advocacy Director with Amnesty International -- a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave human rights abuses worldwide.
Noam Chomsky
Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An Author and Analyst of Global Affairs including, US foreign Policy, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Author of "The fateful triangle: the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians."
Father Drew Christiansen
Former director of the Office of International Justice and Peace, United States Catholic Conference (91-98) and served as counselor on international affairs from (98-04). He traveled to the Holy Land numerous times to investigate the on-the-ground reality facing the Palestinian Christian community.
Cindy and Craig Corrie
Parents of late peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was killed by an Israeli Bulldozer while protesting the destruction of a Palestinian doctor's home. Founders of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice.
Douglas Dicks
Visitor Outreach program director Catholic Relief Services in Jerusalem. His work brings him in direct contact with patriarchs and priests as well as with elected government officials, human rights groups, and prominent members of both Palestinian and Israeli societies
Richard Falk
Served on the United Nations Human Rights Fact-finding Commission (2001) to investigate international law violations and human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza. Author and former Professor of International Law at Princeton University.
Paul Findley
United States Congressman (1961-1983). Founder and Chairman of the Council for the National Interest. Author of "They Dare to Speak Out" and other books.
Thomas Getman
He served as director of World Vision's programs in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (1997-2001). Currently, he is director of humanitarian affairs and international relations -- and is responsible for diplomatic relations with UN government member missions in Geneva.
Neta Golan
Israeli peace activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. A peace movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles.
Jeff Halper
Co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and a Professor of Anthropology at Ben Gurion University. He has researched and written extensively on Israeli society and Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.
Amira Hass
Israeli Journalist living and working in the occupied territories, she writes for Ha'aretz -- an Israeli daily newspaper. She is the author of "Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land under Siege."
Doug Hostetter
He worked as an Interfaith Peacebuilder for the Fellowship of Reconciliation and took part in delegations to Israel/Palestine to learn from Palestinian and Israeli peace activists and experience directly the situation of Palestinians living under military occupation.
Kathy Kamphoefner
She worked with the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron (West Bank) -- which embraces the vision of unarmed intervention waged by committed peacemakers ready to risk injury and death in bold attempts to transform lethal conflict through nonviolent means.
Adam Keller
Spokesperson of Gush Shalom -- an Israeli Peace Group which has played a leading role in determining the moral and political agenda of the peace forces in Israel, as well as in breaking the so-called "national consensus" based on misinformation.
Hava Keller
Israeli peace activist and founder of Women's Organization for Political Prisoners -- established with the objective of helping female political prisoners who struggle against Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. She was also a soldier who served during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Rashid Khalidi
Director of the Middle East Institute - School of International and Public Affairs/Columbia University. Author of "Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness" and "British Policy towards Syria and Palestine" -- among other books.
Peretz Kidron
Spokesperson of Yush Gvul -- an Israeli peace group campaigning against the occupation by backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature. He is an Israeli peace activist, freelance journalist, and author of "Refusenik!: Israel's Soldiers of Conscience."
Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi of Beyt Tikkun and editor of TIKKUN magazine -- A Bimonthly Jewish Critique of Politics, Culture and Society. In 2002, He founded The Tikkun Community which brought hundreds of people to Washington, D.C. to a Teach-In to Congress on Middle East Peace.
Rabbi Rebecca Lillian
The spiritual leader of Temple Beth Or in Miami, FL. She was previously co-chair of the Jewish Peace Forum and, under its auspices, organized Jewish peace delegations to Israel and the West Bank. She is currently on the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace.
Roger Normand
Roger Normand is co-founder and executive director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights in New York, and has led recent human rights missions to Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel and Palestine.
Allegra Pacheco
She is an American-born Israeli attorney who works on the front lines and defends Palestinians in Israeli courts against house demolitions, land confiscations, torture, and illegal detentions. Her litigation won an Israeli Supreme Court banning certain torture methods in Israel.
Ilan Pappe
An Israeli-born lecturer from Haifa University. Through his life experiences and scholarly research he came to challenge the common historical narrative of his state. He is one of the so called 'New Historians' who in the late 1980s exposed the 1948 ethnic cleansing Israel carried out in Palestine.
Dr. Iyad Sarraj
A prominent Palestinian psychiatrist who has undergone extensive research about the mental health condition of children living and Gaza. He is the director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program.
Yael Stien
Research director of B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group -- established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories.
Gila Svirsky
An Israeli peace campaigner for more than 15 years, lives in Jerusalem. She is a founding member of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, a grouping of eight Israeli and Palestinian women's peace organizations.
Ambassador Edward Walker
His diplomatic career includes positions as US Ambassador to Israel (1997-1999), the Arab Republic of Egypt (1994-1997), and the United Arab Emirates (1989-1992). He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under the Clinton administration.
Alison Weir
American freelance journalist who has traveled independently throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She founded If Americans Knew and frequently lectures throughout the United States to misinformed and uninformed citizens on one of the most significant issues affecting them today
Dr. Albert Aghazarian
Director of Public Relations at Bier Ziet University. He is the most prominent Palestinian Armenian figure -- Headed press centre during Madrid conference.
Ambassador James Akins
Former (1963-1965) Attache at the US Embassy in Baghdad; Former (1973-1975) US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman
Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights - an organization of Israeli rabbis committed to defending the human rights of all people in Israel and in the territories under Israeli control.
Dr. William Baker
Former Professor of Ancient History and Biblical studies. Founder of Christians and Muslims for Peace.
Bishop Allen Bartlett, Jr.
Assisting Bishop (2001-2004) of the Diocese of Washington. The Episcopal Diocese of Washington comprises 93 Episcopal congregations in the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and Saint Mary's.
Phyllis Bennis
Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. An author, analyst, and activist on Middle East and UN issues. Helped found and co-chairs the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation.
Peter Boukaert
Director of Emergencies at Human Rights Watch -- the largest human rights organization based in the United States. He has conducted extensive fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in the West Bank (Israeli Occupied Territory).
Sharon Burke
Former Advocacy Director with Amnesty International -- a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave human rights abuses worldwide.
Noam Chomsky
Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An Author and Analyst of Global Affairs including, US foreign Policy, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Author of "The fateful triangle: the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians."
Father Drew Christiansen
Former director of the Office of International Justice and Peace, United States Catholic Conference (91-98) and served as counselor on international affairs from (98-04). He traveled to the Holy Land numerous times to investigate the on-the-ground reality facing the Palestinian Christian community.
Cindy and Craig Corrie
Parents of late peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was killed by an Israeli Bulldozer while protesting the destruction of a Palestinian doctor's home. Founders of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice.
Douglas Dicks
Visitor Outreach program director Catholic Relief Services in Jerusalem. His work brings him in direct contact with patriarchs and priests as well as with elected government officials, human rights groups, and prominent members of both Palestinian and Israeli societies
Richard Falk
Served on the United Nations Human Rights Fact-finding Commission (2001) to investigate international law violations and human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza. Author and former Professor of International Law at Princeton University.
Paul Findley
United States Congressman (1961-1983). Founder and Chairman of the Council for the National Interest. Author of "They Dare to Speak Out" and other books.
Thomas Getman
He served as director of World Vision's programs in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (1997-2001). Currently, he is director of humanitarian affairs and international relations -- and is responsible for diplomatic relations with UN government member missions in Geneva.
Neta Golan
Israeli peace activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. A peace movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles.
Jeff Halper
Co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and a Professor of Anthropology at Ben Gurion University. He has researched and written extensively on Israeli society and Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.
Amira Hass
Israeli Journalist living and working in the occupied territories, she writes for Ha'aretz -- an Israeli daily newspaper. She is the author of "Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land under Siege."
Doug Hostetter
He worked as an Interfaith Peacebuilder for the Fellowship of Reconciliation and took part in delegations to Israel/Palestine to learn from Palestinian and Israeli peace activists and experience directly the situation of Palestinians living under military occupation.
Kathy Kamphoefner
She worked with the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron (West Bank) -- which embraces the vision of unarmed intervention waged by committed peacemakers ready to risk injury and death in bold attempts to transform lethal conflict through nonviolent means.
Adam Keller
Spokesperson of Gush Shalom -- an Israeli Peace Group which has played a leading role in determining the moral and political agenda of the peace forces in Israel, as well as in breaking the so-called "national consensus" based on misinformation.
Hava Keller
Israeli peace activist and founder of Women's Organization for Political Prisoners -- established with the objective of helping female political prisoners who struggle against Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. She was also a soldier who served during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Rashid Khalidi
Director of the Middle East Institute - School of International and Public Affairs/Columbia University. Author of "Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness" and "British Policy towards Syria and Palestine" -- among other books.
Peretz Kidron
Spokesperson of Yush Gvul -- an Israeli peace group campaigning against the occupation by backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature. He is an Israeli peace activist, freelance journalist, and author of "Refusenik!: Israel's Soldiers of Conscience."
Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi of Beyt Tikkun and editor of TIKKUN magazine -- A Bimonthly Jewish Critique of Politics, Culture and Society. In 2002, He founded The Tikkun Community which brought hundreds of people to Washington, D.C. to a Teach-In to Congress on Middle East Peace.
Rabbi Rebecca Lillian
The spiritual leader of Temple Beth Or in Miami, FL. She was previously co-chair of the Jewish Peace Forum and, under its auspices, organized Jewish peace delegations to Israel and the West Bank. She is currently on the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace.
Roger Normand
Roger Normand is co-founder and executive director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights in New York, and has led recent human rights missions to Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel and Palestine.
Allegra Pacheco
She is an American-born Israeli attorney who works on the front lines and defends Palestinians in Israeli courts against house demolitions, land confiscations, torture, and illegal detentions. Her litigation won an Israeli Supreme Court banning certain torture methods in Israel.
Ilan Pappe
An Israeli-born lecturer from Haifa University. Through his life experiences and scholarly research he came to challenge the common historical narrative of his state. He is one of the so called 'New Historians' who in the late 1980s exposed the 1948 ethnic cleansing Israel carried out in Palestine.
Dr. Iyad Sarraj
A prominent Palestinian psychiatrist who has undergone extensive research about the mental health condition of children living and Gaza. He is the director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program.
Yael Stien
Research director of B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group -- established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories.
Gila Svirsky
An Israeli peace campaigner for more than 15 years, lives in Jerusalem. She is a founding member of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, a grouping of eight Israeli and Palestinian women's peace organizations.
Ambassador Edward Walker
His diplomatic career includes positions as US Ambassador to Israel (1997-1999), the Arab Republic of Egypt (1994-1997), and the United Arab Emirates (1989-1992). He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under the Clinton administration.
Alison Weir
American freelance journalist who has traveled independently throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She founded If Americans Knew and frequently lectures throughout the United States to misinformed and uninformed citizens on one of the most significant issues affecting them today
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