Israel’s government unanimously voted on Sunday, February 18 to reject any attempts by foreign powers to create a Palestinian state once the war against Hamas ends, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu introduced a measure after a cabinet meeting Sunday morning that said Israel “outright rejects” calls for a two-state solution being pushed by the US and other members of the United Nations. The Israeli government swiftly adopted the proposal.
“Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding the permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the Jewish state said in the declaration. “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.
Netanyahu said a Palestinian state established with outside interference will only reward the terrorists behind the brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
“Such a recognition, following the massacre of Oct. 7, will give a huge reward to terrorism, a reward like no other, and will prevent any future peace settlement,” it adds.
The declaration echoes Netanyahu’s remarks last week where he described a two-state solution as a “prize” for Hamas during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been pushing the Biden administration’s proposal for international recognition of a Palestinian state.
Also, Hamas has joined Israel in rejecting calls for a brokered Palestinian state but for a different reason.
Senior Palestinian terror group official Khaled Mashal rejected the notion last month — because he said his group hopes to expand its Palestinian territory and erase the Jewish state from the map.
“I would like to say two things about the two-state solution: First, we have nothing to do with the two-state solution,” the 67-year-old terrorist said in a translation provided by MEMRI TV. “We reject this notion, because it means you would get a promise for a [Palestinian] state, yet you are required to recognize the legitimacy of the other state, which is the Zionist entity.“This is unacceptable,” he said of Israel’s existence.
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for the war in Gaza to end with a reformed Palestinian Authority taking the reins and having Palestine officially recognized as its own sovereign state.
The Oct. 7 massacre left more than 1,200 people dead, while more than 240 others were kidnapped.
