Itongadol/AJN.- Livni says Bennett "must decide if he represents all Israeli citizens or just residents of isolated settlements."
The creation of a Palestinian state will destroy Israel\’s economy, not boycotts of Israeli products, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday at the start of his Bayit Yehudi faction meeting.
Bennett spoke the same day that a group of Israeli business leaders en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland pressed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with the Palestinians in order to avoid international boycotts on Israel.
Using charts indicating Israel\’s economic growth through the years, Bennett said the economy did better when there were not Israeli concessions that led to terror attacks.
"Imagine what the economy of Israel would look like if one missile each day hit Shenkar Street in Herzliya Pituah," Bennett said. "What would the economy of Israel look like if once a year a missile launched from Judea and Samaria brings down a plane headed to Ben-Gurion Airport."
Bennett said that when he worked in hi-tech, nearly all his company\’s profits came from exports, so he was aware of what impact boycotts could have on business. But he said nevertheless, Israel should not give into pressure to make concessions to the Palestinians.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads Israel\’s negotiating team with the Palestinians, attacked Bennett for downplaying the threat of boycotts. She accused him of listening to extremist rabbis rather than business leaders.
"The economy and trade minister must decide if he represents all Israeli citizens or just residents of isolated settlements," Livni said. "Responsible Zionist leaders must not stick to ideology that will isolate Israel, harm the economy and every citizen but rather work for a diplomatic agreement that will strengthen our standing in the world and ensure Israel\’s economic security as a Jewish and democratic state."