Israel election challenger to Netanyahu suggests West Bank settlements could be dismantled

Polls suggest former general set to gain 24 seats in upcoming elections

A new housing project in the West Bank settlement of Naale (AP)

The main challenger to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the country’s upcoming elections has suggested Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank may be removed should he come to power.

Benny Gantz, a former general and head of the newly founded Resilience Party, is seen as the biggest threat to Mr Netanyahu’s 10-year reign in elections scheduled for April.

Mr Gantz had previously said some West Bank settlements would “remain forever”. In his first interview since announcing his run for prime minister, he cited the dismantling of settlements in Gaza in 2005 as an example that could be replicated in the West Bank.

“All sides had a lot at stake and the state managed to do it without tearing the country apart. It was done legally, carried out by the State of Israel and the IDF, and even though it was very painful for the settlers, it was handled well,” he said.

“We must take the lessons of the disengagement and implement them in other arenas.”

Many Israelis consider the Gaza disengagement under then prime minister Ariel Sharon a historic mistake that emboldened the Islamist group Hamas.

But the continued growth of settlements in the West Bank is seen as one of the greatest barriers to an eventual peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. More than 400,000 Israelis live in the territory, and a further 200,000 in East Jerusalem, both of which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Most of the international community views settlements as illegal – in 2016 the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that described them as a “flagrant violation” of international law. Palestinians argue they harm the chances of a two-state solution by taking land that would eventually make up a Palestinian state.

Settlement construction has surged under Donald Trump, who has taken a more relaxed approach to the issue than previous presidents. Data compiled by Peace Now, an advocacy group in Israel, found that construction had risen 20 per cent in the first nine months of 2018, compared with the year before.

Speaking on Tuesday, the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres described settlements as “a major obstacle to peace”, which should be “halted and reversed”.

“Ongoing settlement construction and expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under United Nations resolutions and international law,” he said. “A two-state solution is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and secure a sustainable solution to the conflict.”

According to current polling, Mr Gantz is expected to win about 24 seats in the Knesset, trailing Mr Netanyahu’s Likud by six seats.

The former general, frequently described as “charismatic” in profiles, was the Israeli army’s chief of staff during the 2014 Gaza war, codenamed Operation Protective Edge. Mr Gantz has highlighted his role in the war in promotional material for his campaign.

Israel launched the military operation in the Gaza Strip following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas members. The subsequent war left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead.

“Sixty-three per cent, or 1,391, did not take part in the fighting, including 526 minors,” according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. “It is estimated that 18,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged and that more than 100,000 Palestinians were rendered homeless.”