SALON

Israeli defense chief proposes West Bank pullout

Dozens of settlements would uproot

Topics: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Israel-Palestine, Ehud Barak,

Israeli defense chief proposes West Bank pulloutThis Sunday, April 22, 2012 photo shows the Ulpana neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Beit El near Ramallah. A looming deadline to demolish the homes of 30 Jewish settler families in the unauthorized Ulpana outpost has become a tough new test of the Israeli Prime Minster's ability to sustain a delicate balancing act, with some hardline allies warning that if the buildings come down his government will fall as well. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)(Credit: AP)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister is calling for a unilateral pullout from most of the West Bank if peace efforts with the Palestinians remain stalled.

Ehud Barak calls for uprooting dozens of settlements but says Israel would keep major settlement blocs, mostly near the frontiers of Israel proper, and maintain a military presence in an area along the border with Jordan.

His remarks came in an interview published on Monday in the Israel Hayom newspaper.

He says it would be preferable to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians but after four years of deadlock, he says Israel must take “practical steps.”

The Palestinians reject Israeli moves. They seek all of the West Bank under a negotiated agreement.

Barak’s proposal is also likely to face heavy opposition from Israeli hardliners.

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