Agence France-Press, 8 January 2007
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Hiking, scouting and promoting the forced “transfer” of Palestinians out of the West Bank — these are the main goals of a new youth movement formed by a far-right Israeli MP.
Ariyeh Eldad of the National Union party told public radio that he had visited numerous schools across the country, “and realised that the idea of transfer is very popular among youngsters.”
The concept of transfer, often touted by Israel’s Jewish far-right, consists of forcefully transferring Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank to Arab countries, and stands in staunch violation of international law.
“I have always claimed a transfer is necessary and possible,” Eldad told the mass-selling Yediot Aharonont daily.
“The teenagers always ask me ‘where are we going to?’, ‘what can we do?’. I realised there was no adequate cadre for this youth and decided to form a new Israeli youth movement.”
The 56-year-old MP, who himself lives in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kfar Edumim, says he will personally head the movement which he has named Amihai.
MP Ronit Tirosh of the centrist Kadima party told public radio that he feared the movement would be recognised by the education ministry provided it did not violate basic democratic rules.
“I personally do not adhere to such ideas,” she said.
Israeli authorities have previously declared illegal another far-right militant youth movement, Noar Meir, named after rabbi Meir Kahane, for its radical and violent ideology.