Minister Rechavam (“Gandhi”) Ze'evi was used to controversy, and his name is once again at the center of a political row, eight years after he was assassinated by terrorists. President Shimon Peres, in his eulogy at Ze'evi's memorial ceremony, said Ze'evi was not just a "radical Zionist" but also a pragmatist with "a wide strategic point of view." After the Six Day War, said Peres, Ze'evi came up with a plan for what he called “the State of Yishmael” on parts of Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) that would be federally linked to the state of Israel. He quoted a line from Ze'evi, who said at the time that such a step must be taken quickly because “a prolonged rule by Israel would widen the hatred” between the Arabs of Yehudah and Shomron and Israel. "What he understood and suggested as early as June 1967 became, in our time, the basis of a different plan,” Peres added, in an apparent hint at the “two state solution.” MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) was quick to chide Peres for the eulogy. "The President shamed the memory of 'Gandhi' when he turned him into a member of 'Peace Now' and claimed that Gandhi supported a Palestinian state in his youth,” Ben Ari said. “Peres's obsession brought about the Oslo disaster and its murderous results and he is doing everything, including twisting history around, in order to continue making his false claims.” Peres was a central force behind the Oslo accords and is an advocate of the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. From 1987, Ze'evi was known as a proponent of the eviction of Arabs from Yehudah and Shomron and was slain by Arab terrorists because of his political views.
