PM Netanyahu affirms: Opposition to Palestinian state west of Jordan River remains unchanged

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his firm opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state amid internal criticism caused by reports that the American draft for a UN resolution on Gaza includes a “pathway” toward this.

“Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan [River], this opposition is existing, valid, and has not changed one bit,” Netanyahu declared at the start of Sunday’s government meeting.

“I have been rebuffing these attempts for decades and I am doing it both against pressures from outside and against pressures from within. So, I do not need affirmations, tweets, or lectures from anyone,” he said.

The Trump administration is currently preparing a draft for a Security Council resolution that will lay out the pathway forward in Gaza.

Behind the scenes, Israel is trying affect additional changes to the American draft, Ynet News reported.

Israeli media outlets reported that there are significant differences of opinion between Israel and the U.S., which is said to consider moving ahead to the ceasefire’s second phase without Hamas having laid down its weapons or even released all hostage remains.

According to Ynet, Netanyahu convened a discussion in the small cabinet about Israel’s concern over the wording of the U.S. draft, particularly regarding demilitarization of Gaza and the role of the international stabilization force (ISF), which could be brought to a vote on Monday.

In his statement, Netanyahu stressed there would be “no such thing” as a possible “non-demilitarization” of the parts of Gaza that are being controlled by Hamas.

“Even in the 20-point plan, and in everything else, this territory will be demilitarized, and Hamas will be disarmed. Either this will happen the easy way or it will happen the hard way. This is what I said, and this is what President Trump also said,” he added.

A report by Israel’s Channel 13 suggested the U.S. could seek to forego the demand for demilitarization and press on with the rebuilding of the devastated enclave.

In addition, the U.S. draft is said to include language suggesting that the U.S. would establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians, aiming to find agreement for “a political horizon for prosperous coexistence.”

The U.S.-led Peace Board is meant to take over the administration of Gaza until the Palestinian Authority completes its reform plans, and once development of the strip advances, “conditions may finally be in place for a credible path to self-determination and to a Palestinian state.”

These paragraphs drew furious and “sharp” criticisms from several ministers toward Netanyahu, Ynet News reported.

Several of Netanyahu’s senior coalition partners voiced public criticism over the past two days.

On Saturday evening, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slammed Netanyahu’s “silence and diplomatic disgrace,” calling him to “immediately formulate an appropriate and decisive response that will make it clear to the entire world [that] a Palestinian state will never be established on the territory of our homeland.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir emphasized that his Jewish Power party “will not be part of any government that agrees” to the establishment of a Palestinian state, urging the prime minister to clarify that Israel won’t “allow a Palestinian state in any form.”

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on 𝕏 that Israel is already “grappling with an extraordinary phenomenon: terror states (terrorist organizations controlling territory).”

He added that “Israel will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel, at a negligible distance from all its population centers and with topographical control over them.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz also noted in a statement on 𝕏 that “Israel’s policy is clear: There will be no Palestinian state.”

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