Israeli FM says Arab citizens should be paid to relocate to future Palestinian state

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014 file photo, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, speaks with with Cyprus' Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides during their meeting in Nicosia, Cyprus. In a manifesto of his Yisrael Beitenu party published Friday, Nov. 28, 2014, Avigdor Lieberman says he favors ceding Arab majority areas in northern Israel to a future Palestinian state and providing economic incentives for Arab-Israelis — about 20 per cent of Israel's population — to encourage them to emigrate. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File) (The Associated Press)

An Israeli soldier argues with a Palestinian protester as they try to block a highway between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea near the West Bank town of Jericho Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi) (The Associated Press)

Israeli soldier pushes a Palestinian protester as they try to block a highway between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea near the West Bank town of Jericho Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi) (The Associated Press)

Israel's hard-line foreign minister says he supports paying Arab citizens to leave the country.

In a manifesto of his Yisrael Beitenu party published Friday, Avigdor Lieberman says he favors ceding Arab majority areas in northern Israel to a future Palestinian state and providing economic incentives for Arab-Israelis — about 20 percent of Israel's population — to encourage them to emigrate.

The manifesto does not set out positions on the most difficult issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including the status of Jerusalem and Israel's borders.

But it does acknowledge the necessity of territorial compromise in reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians, and also with moderate Arab countries.

Once a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lieberman is now seen as harboring prime ministerial ambitions himself.