Across the Middle East, we find out why Israel is aiming to redefine ‘ethnic’
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On one level, an incendiary video posted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend looked suspiciously like an own goal.
In it, Netanyahu argues that a Palestinian demand to dismantle Jewish settlements amounts to the "ethnic cleansing" of some 650,000 Jews living in the occupied territories, in violation of international law.
"The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: no Jews," he says in the short video posted on Facebook last Friday. "There's a phrase for that: It's called ethnic cleansing."
Netanyahu's aim was not hard to decipher. He wants yet another obstacle in the way of Palestinian efforts to seek international backing for statehood. It comes as pressure mounts separately from France and Russia for the Israeli government to re-engage in peace talks
Dr Jeff Halper is an anthropologist, author, lecturer, and political activist. He is a co-founder of The People Yes! Network (TPYN) and the former Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).
Halper has written several books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is a frequent writer and speaker about Israeli politics, focusing mainly on non violent strategies to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
He now joins us on the line
Guest: Jeff Halper
Position: Author, Lecturer, Political Activist
In it, Netanyahu argues that a Palestinian demand to dismantle Jewish settlements amounts to the "ethnic cleansing" of some 650,000 Jews living in the occupied territories, in violation of international law.
"The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: no Jews," he says in the short video posted on Facebook last Friday. "There's a phrase for that: It's called ethnic cleansing."
Netanyahu's aim was not hard to decipher. He wants yet another obstacle in the way of Palestinian efforts to seek international backing for statehood. It comes as pressure mounts separately from France and Russia for the Israeli government to re-engage in peace talks
Dr Jeff Halper is an anthropologist, author, lecturer, and political activist. He is a co-founder of The People Yes! Network (TPYN) and the former Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).
Halper has written several books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is a frequent writer and speaker about Israeli politics, focusing mainly on non violent strategies to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
He now joins us on the line
Guest: Jeff Halper
Position: Author, Lecturer, Political Activist