This is an entry from: Live blog: Gaza under attack
Israeli official rejects withdrawal to 1967 lines
25 August 2014 10:25 BST
A senior Israeli official has responded negatively to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ rumoured initiative to ask the UN to set a timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as a capital.
“No nation gives up its native homeland,” Ofir Akunis, a deputy minister in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, is quoted as having said by Haaretz. “Jude and Samaria [the West Bank] are the cradle of the Jewish people. Withdrawal to the 1967 lines is tantamount to national suicide,” he added.
“The results of withdrawal from Gaza show that withdrawals don’t bring peace – they bring war.”