Tel Aviv [Israel], February 19 (ANI): Further showcasing the growing friction between the US and Israel, the Israeli cabinet unanimously approved a declaration strongly opposing any plan for Palestinian statehood, the Times of Israel reported.
This comes in the wake of reports that the US and several Arab partners were preparing a detailed plan for a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians that includes a “firm timeline” for a Palestinian state.
“Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the cabinet decision read. “A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.”
“Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” the motion added. “Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would be a massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism and would foil any future peace settlement.”
Responding to this, a US State Department spokesperson said that the best way to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides “lasting peace and security” for Israelis and Palestinians alike, is our strong commitment to the “creation of a Palestinian state,” Times of Israel reported.
“As such, the US continues to support the two-state solution and to oppose policies that endanger its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values,” it added.
The Israeli cabinet statement echoed comments made by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in response to a Washington Post report on the matter.
The Washington Post reported that the timing for announcing the blueprint was largely dependent on Israel and Hamas being able to reach a deal pausing the fighting in Gaza.
Members of Netanyahu’s Likud party and ministers on the right flank of his coalition publicly blasted the report. One Likud minister even called for Israel to threaten in response to cancel the Oslo Accords that created the Palestinian Authority. But, Sunday’s statement was also approved by the centrist members of the emergency government, including ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot.
The ongoing war was sparked by the Hamas terror attack on October 7, which saw thousands of terrorists break through the border, kill around 1,200 people and take over 250 hostages, amid horrific acts of brutality including sexual assault.
The proposed plan includes moves that Israel has previously refused, including the evacuation of many West Bank settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. It would also see a combined security apparatus and government for the West Bank and Gaza.
Saudi officials have publicly acknowledged their willingness to normalize relations with Israel, even after October 7, but they have stressed — as has the US — that no deal can be reached until there is a ceasefire in Gaza and that it must include the creation of an irreversible pathway toward a Palestinian state.
In the past as well, Netanyahu has spoken out against the creation of a Palestinian state. While some international actors believe the violence only underlines the need for a peace deal, Israeli leaders argue the attack highlighted the “extreme danger” of an autonomous Palestinian entity near its population centres.
The Israeli leaders also said that amid “soaring support for Hamas” among Palestinians in the wake of the atrocities, there appears to be little appetite in the Israeli public for peace efforts, the Times of Israel reported.
Earlier, Netanyahu refuted calls by world leaders to avoid a ground operation in Rafah and said that doing so would mean “losing the war against Hamas,” as reported by The Times of Israel.
“Those who want to prevent us from operating in Rafah are essentially telling us: ‘Lose the war.’ I won’t let that happen,” he vowed at an evening press conference in Jerusalem. “We won’t capitulate to any pressure,” he said.
According to The Times of Israel, Rafah, located on the Gaza-Egypt border, is the final remaining Hamas stronghold in the territory, but it also houses over a million displaced Palestinians sheltering from war. (ANI)
