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Defense Minister Ya'alon Rules Out Notion of West Bank Withdrawal
(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Lappin, Yonah Jeremy Bob and Tovah Lazaroff - Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon told the Institute for National Security Studies on Tuesday that in the aftermath of the Gaza war, talk of any Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank is irrational. If there was a withdrawal, how would the IDF defend Ben-Gurion Airport or Tel Aviv, he asked, adding that a mortar could be used to attack the airport from the nearby West Bank hilltops. If the IDF leaves, Hamas will take over and other terrorists groups such as the Islamic Jihad, al-Qaeda and Islamic State would operate in the West Bank, he added. "When we talk about a new diplomatic horizon, we have to look for new directions," Ya'alon said. "The changing Middle East offers new regional opportunities. That is where we should seek new diplomatic horizons and not in the same concepts that have collapsed time after time."