The Jerusalem Post reports: “National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz voiced strong opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state and said anyone talking about such an idea was ‘disconnected from reality,’ during remarks at the Makor Rishon Settlement Conference in Ofra on Tuesday morning.

Gantz said Israel ‘cannot allow a direct and significant threat to its citizens on any border,’ and insisted the country must retain security control and operational freedom in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon, and along the Syrian frontier. ‘Anyone talking about a Palestinian state or withdrawals is simply disconnected from the security reality,’ he stated.

Addressing the 2005 Gaza Disengagement Plan, Gantz said its greatest mistake was evacuating the northern Gaza communities of Dugit, Nisanit, and Elei Sinai. He said Israel should have maintained a presence there ‘to control the territory’ and signal that the 1967 lines ‘are not relevant.’…”