Speaking in Davos, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his government isn’t going to move a single Israeli from the occupied West Bank. That was seen as a determination to keep all that territory, but a Netanyahu aide today suggested that rather, the settlers should have the option to stay in Palestine.

“The prime minister believes that in peace, just as Israel has an Arab minority, there is no logical reason why the Palestinian state could not contain a Jewish minority,” the aide added.

The settlers pose some fairly specific problems, however, not the least of which is that much of the land of those settlements, particularly of the isolated “outposts” that would be reverting to Palestinian control, is owned by Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s proposal was immediately condemned by several rivals in the government, including Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who says that he would never allow any deal that would see a single Jew living under Palestinian rule.

Palestinian officials have previously rejected the idea of settlers staying in Palestine, noting the illegality of the settlements themselves as a problem.