JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Friday that Israel would not yield to pressure for the establishment of a Palestinian state, following a report in The Washington Post suggesting a shift in the United States’ stance on the matter.
“Israel firmly rejects any external imposition regarding a permanent resolution with the Palestinians,” said Netanyahu, following a discussion with US President Joe Biden. “Israel will persist in opposing unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.”
Netanyahu said that any prospect of statehood should come through direct negotiations between the two parties, which have not occurred since 2014. The Washington Post reported that the United States, in collaboration with several Arab nations including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, was working on a post-war plan for the region, potentially including a definitive timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, staunchly rejected such a proposal, said that a Palestinian state would pose an existential threat to Israel, particularly concerning settlements in the West Bank.
The two-state solution, which aims to create a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel, has long been a cornerstone of Western policy in the region.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized Netanyahu’s stance, asserting that Palestinian statehood is not a concession but a right upheld by international law and legitimate resolutions.
Obstacles to Palestinian statehood include the expansion of Israeli settlements in territories occupied in the 1967 Middle East war, viewed by most countries as a violation of international law, and which disrupt Palestinian communities.
In the context of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities report over 28,700 Palestinian casualties, significant destruction in Gaza, and the displacement of the majority of its 2.3 million population.
