Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government underscored their opposition to a Palestinian state ahead of a UN Security Council vote Monday on a resolution endorsing a US-backed Gaza peace plan.
The draft resolution would follow up on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas brokered by US President Donald Trump, giving the council's blessing for a transitional administration and a temporary international security force in the devastated territory.
Unlike previous drafts, the latest version of the resolution mentions a possible future Palestinian state, which the Israeli government is vehemently against.
"Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Netanyahu has long ruled out Palestinian independence, asserting that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.
Read more‘No suggestion of democracy’ in US plan for future governance of the Gaza Strip
The Israeli prime minister came in for the meeting after facing criticism from coalition members, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had accused him of failing to respond to a recent wave of recognition of Palestinian statehood by Western countries.
"Formulate immediately an appropriate and decisive response that will make it clear to the entire world – no Palestinian state will ever arise on the lands of our homeland," Smotrich urged Netanyahu on X.
Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s opposition to a Palestinian state has “not changed one bit.”
The Israeli leader added that he has been staving off any advances toward a Palestinian state for decades, and is not threatened by external or internal pressure. “I do not need affirmations, tweets, or lectures from anyone,” he said.
That pressure increased during the war in Gaza. In September, after the UK, Australia and Canada formally recognised a Palestinian state, Netanyahu blasted the countries for proffering a “prize” to Hamas.
Read more‘The time has come’: France recognises the state of Palestine at UN summit
Other Israeli ministers also expressed their opposition to Palestinian statehood, though none explicitly referred to the resolution.
"Israel's policy is clear: no Palestinian state will be established," Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Sunday.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said on X that the country would "not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel".
Far-right firebrand and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir went even further, calling the Palestinian identity an "invention".
The first phase of the US-backed ceasefire deal has seen the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages and nearly all of the 28 dead captives held by Palestinian militants.
In exchange, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned 330 bodies.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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