Israeli Labor Party candidate Ehud Barak plans to “ethnically cleanse” Jewish settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip if he is elected premier, a leader of the settler movement charged Monday. Pinchas Wallerstein’s charge, contained in a message to Jewish settlers, was later condemned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it “inappropriate.” Wallerstein subsequently told Israel Radio that he did not mean ethnic cleansing in the sense of “murdering men and raping women,” but stood by his initial comment.
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