‘We have to let Palestinians stay where they have lived for the past 70 years,’ says Israeli parliamentarian

Mossi Raz, who is a senior member of Israel’s Parliament Knesset, has said that it is ‘unjust’ of Israel to evict Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Raz is a member of the Meretz party, which advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 “We have to reverse this decision and let Palestinians stay in the place they have lived for the past seventy years,” said Raz while speaking to Geo News.

Raz said that thought the the solution to Israel-Palestine conflict is hard, it is not impossible.

“The only solution to war is peace,” said Raz. “First and foremost, we have to stop the fight. Both sides have to stop the fight right now.”

The parliamentarian further said: “Unfortunately, people always support hardliners and their leadership in times of war. We have to uphold freedom, equality, and human rights for people here and in Palestine.”

“The reason why the US president [Joe Biden] repeatedly opposed the security council’s resolution pressing for a ceasefire is that the proposed resolution, I would say, was not fair. It talked about Israel’s violence but did not mention Palestine’s violence.” 

He also clarified that he was neither comparing nor saying there is a symmetry in violence occurring on both sides.

“[I’m] only trying to say that sending missiles on civilians is a war crime be it in Israel or Palestine.”

 At least 220 Palestinians, including 63 children, have been killed in Gaza since the latest violence flared on May 10, about 1,500 Palestinians have been wounded.