A senior Israeli official has said he is pushing for the country’s postcards and canvases to be printed by March 20 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Oslo Accords.
Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Naftali Bennett, the Minister of Culture and Information, said the deadline was a direct result of the failure to reach a political settlement with Hamas, who was holding Gaza as a military zone until it withdrew from the territory.
Hamas withdrew from Gaza in 2007 and is a party to the peace process with Israel.
“This is not a problem with our time.
This is a problem that we are facing today,” Bennett said.
“There is no reason to stop now, we have to stop.
We have to get to a settlement that brings security and peace to the whole region.”
Bennett also said that after Israel annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, it would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West bank.
Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Gaza, he said, and added that he wanted to create a Palestinian entity within the occupied West Bank.
“I think the Palestinians are in a better position than the Israelis,” Bennett added.
“The Palestinians have to negotiate with the Israelis.
If they can’t do it, they will find a way.”
