Netanyahu Declares That Israel ‘Outright Rejects’ Possibility of Palestinian Statehood after Hamas War by David Zimmerman
In a new declaration, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “outright rejects” the possibility of Palestinian statehood after the Jewish state’s war with Hamas in Gaza ends.
The prime minister announced the measure at a government meeting on Sunday, as the U.N. and Biden administration continue persuading Israel to accept a two-state solution to the conflict. According to Netanyahu, Israel should resist all foreign efforts to create a Palestinian state.
“In light of the talk recently heard in the international community about an attempt to unilaterally impose a Palestinian state on Israel, I am bringing today a declarative decision on this issue for the approval of the government. I am sure it will be widely accepted,” Netanyahu told his cabinet Sunday morning.
“Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding the permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the declaration stated. “Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions. Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such a recognition, following the massacre of October 7, will reward the terrorism, a reward like no other, and will prevent any future peace settlement.”
While the U.S. is a close ally of Israel, President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials have repeatedly called for Netanyahu’s government to pursue a two-state solution with the Palestinian people who live in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while visiting Israel and the larger Middle East region earlier this month, proposed the idea again as part of a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
During Blinken’s visit, Hamas proposed a three-phase process in which Israeli troops would withdraw from Gaza, the terrorist group’s remaining 100 hostages would be released in exchange for the freedom of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and a massive humanitarian and rebuilding effort would be provided to the embattled Palestinian territory. Netanyahu rejected the counterproposal, calling Hamas’s demands “delusional.”
“There is not a commitment – there has to be a negotiation, it’s a process, and at the moment, from what I see from Hamas, it’s not happening,” he said hours after meeting with Blinken. The prime minister added that Israel wants nothing but “complete victory” in Gaza, where he believes the conflict will end in “a matter of months.”
Netanyahu’s resolute aversion to a cease-fire deal has been testing Biden’s patience, according to an NBC News report from last week, as the president’s policies toward Israel and Gaza remain unchanged. Biden has reportedly called Netanyahu an “asshole” at least three times in private, per anonymous sources in the Biden administration, who say the Israeli leader has been “giving him hell” lately over a potential cease-fire deal.
Although Netanyahu rejects a truce now, Israel has tried to pursue similar peace deals with Palestinian and Arab leaders over the past 75 years since Israel was established as an independent state in 1948. Two offers were made in 2000 and 2008, but both were rejected.
Given Israel’s past history with such deals and the nation’s newly signed declaration, it’s unlikely Netanyahu will alter his position on the matter.
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