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Likud MK: Any concession could empower Hamas

In an interview with Al-Monitor, newly elected Likud Knesset member Yoav Kish argues that any territorial concession under current circumstances will end up with Islamic extremists taking control of that land.
An Israeli settler argues with Israeli soldiers during a protest organised by Palestinians against Jewish settlements near the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4MMV0
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When viewed from the observation post of the Neve Daniel village in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc on June 8, reports concerning anti-Israel boycotts seemed trivial and remote. Set against this stunning view, with the settlements of Gush Etzion on one side and a sweep of Israel’s coastal cities and towns on the other, Yoav Kish, one of the Likud’s newest members of the Knesset, promised his guests that he would do everything he can to support the settlement enterprise. He also declared that talk of a two-state solution is unrealistic, given the present circumstances.

Kish has all the qualifications to make him a settler favorite in the current Knesset. He believes any diplomatic move that involves the ceding of territory would be disastrous, because that territory would be seized by Islamist forces and terrorist organizations. Added to his right-wing worldview is the fact that Kish is a fighter pilot in the reserves with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and that before he was elected to the Knesset, he flew Boeings for the Israeli national carrier, El Al. In other words, he is the salt of the earth.

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