Israel’s National Religious Minister of Education has caused indignation with statements about the „healing“ of homosexuals and the annexation of the West Bank. Rafi Perez of the Settler Party told Israeli television, „I want Israeli sovereignty to be extended to all of Judea and Samaria (West Bank).“
They also want to take care of the Palestinian residents, „but they will not have political decision-making,“ Perez said in the interview yesterday. You should not get a vote.
What’s in the US peace plan?
Leftist opposition politicians accused Perez of seeking an apartheid state. Before the general election in April, the right-wing conservative head of government Benjamin Netanyahu had already confirmed plans to annex Israeli settlement areas in the West Bank. US Ambassador David Friedman also told The New York Times last month, „I think that under certain circumstances, Israel has the right to keep some, but not all, of the West Bank.“
In the coming months, the publication of a US peace plan to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is expected. Israel had conquered the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 during the Six-Day War. The Palestinians want these areas for their own state with East Jerusalem as the capital.
Controversial statements
Perez, an orthodox rabbi, was also in favor of controversial conversion therapies for homosexuals. Openly gay Justice Minister Amir Ochana condemned these comments on Twitter: „Serious psychological studies agree that sexual orientation can not be changed, and that such therapies can inflict pain and suffering on teenagers, even suicidal thoughts.“ Netanyahu also distanced himself himself from the statements of the Minister of Education on this question.
