Brownback: “Land for peace does not work”

New York — Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), one of the Republican presidential candidates, has endorsed the plan put forward in Israel by Knesset Member Benny Elon (National Union — National Religious Party) under which Israel would maintain control over Judea and Samaria. The Elon plan also calls for recognizing Jordan and the sole representative of Palestinian Arabs rather than the Palestinian Authority (PA); dismantling the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) and the Palestinian refugee camps it maintains and rehabilitating the Palestinian refugees of the 1948-49 War of Independence and their millions of descendants. Senator Brownback stated, “This is a realistic proposal and different way forward, which needs to be looked at broadly in the international community.” Referring to Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Brownback noted that “Land for peace does not work.”

Senator Brownback noted that while he does not endorse all aspects of the plan — specifically regarding the PA — he believes that it could be the basis for a positive discussion for the long-term relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Elon is expected to present his plan called “The Israeli Initiative: The Right Road to Peace” to President Shimon Peres and Israeli legislators from across the political spectrum in the next few days. Elon has said that “If Israel will not be in Judea and Samaria, then Hamas will be there. We have had enough cocktail parties at the White House with the Nobel Prize winner Arafat. Now is the time for a real conceptual change.” (Jerusalem Post, October 10)

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