Bennett: Palestinian state will destroy economy

Palestinian state will destroy the Israeli economy, as would a left-wing government, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said Wednesday.

 

“My brothers on the Left, enough already!” he said at a financial conference sponsored by business newspaper The- Marker in Tel Aviv.

 

Bennett has argued in the past that any territorial concessions to the Palestinians would put more of Israel’s territory within the range of rockets, which would seriously stunt the economy. Rocket fire from Gaza during Operation Protective Edge last summer shaved roughly a half-percent off Israel’s economic growth in 2014.

 

The Bayit Yehudi leader also said the price of housing would be more reasonable if Israel built more in Judea and Samaria to increase demand.

 

The Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday released data showing that housing starts fell 7.9% in 2014. In Judea and Samaria, which accounts for just 3.1% of Israel’s housing starts, the number of new units fell 52.5% in 2014.

 

Read More: Bennett: Palestinian state will destroy economy – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post