Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed the Likud Party’s Danny Danon, currently the Minister of Science, to the position of United
Nations envoy. Danon, a man who Netanyahu fired only last year because of his “loose cannon” actions, seems an odd choice for a diplomatic position of any kind.
Danon seems particularly ill suited for the role of UN Envoy due to his outspoken and uncompromising opposition to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, something virtually the entire world supports. Danon is not afraid to make this clear either. Here are his own words in recent years. Read them and judge for yourself what message Netanyahu is sending by appointing Danon to this post.
“There is place only for one state on the land of Israel…. I do not believe in a two-state solution.” –Al Jazeera
“I will use my strength and influence to convince as many people as I can within the party and outside the party that a Palestinian state is bad news for Israel.” – The Forward
“Even if there will be a vote [at the UN on a Palestinian state], it will be a Facebook state. They will have a lot of likes in the Facebook, but it will not change the lives of the Israelis, the Jewish pioneers, who live in the hills of Judea and Samaria.” – The New Republic
“An independent Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria would pose a grave threat to Israel.” – Fox News
“There was never a government discussion, resolution or vote about the two-state solution…if you bring it to a vote, you will see the majority of Likud ministers, along with the Jewish Home [party], will be against it.” – Times of Israel
“Enough with the two-state-solution. Land-for-peace is over. We don’t want a Palestinian State. We need to apply Israeli sovereignty over all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. It’s been about 20 years since the Oslo Accords. That’s finished and now we’re ready for new ideas…We are a nationalist government and not a government that will establish a Palestinian government on 1967 lines.” – Arutz 7
“If you go to the Arab-populated cities in Judea and Samaria, you will hear them speaking like they do in Jordan. It’s the same with the Arabs of Gaza and their connection to Egypt.” – Arutz 7
“Our goal should be to annex the maximum land with the minimum Arab population,” he said of the West Bank. “We should speak about our rights and not apologize for it. We have biblical rights, historical rights, rights according to international law. We also have common-sense rights: We won the war.” – JTA
On building in E Jerusalem: “The international community can say whatever they want, and we can do whatever we want.” –Times of Israel