Israeli Leader Again Rejects US Push for Palestinian State
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has told the United States (US) that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state once the conflict in Gaza comes to an end.
In a news conference, a defiant Mr. Netanyahu vowed to press on with the offensive in Gaza until complete victory: the destruction of Hamas and return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
Israel’s allies, including the US – and many of its foes – have urged a revival of the long-dormant two-state solution, in which a future Palestinian state would sit side-by-side with an Israeli one.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu said Israel must have security control over all land west of the river Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state.
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Since the 7 October attacks – the worst in Israel’s history, when Hamas gunmen killed about 1,300 Israelis and took some 240 hostage – the US has supported its right to defend itself.
But as the death toll in Gaza has grown, and the scenes of horror there have abounded, Western governments have called for Israeli restraint.
The White House has repeatedly tried to influence Israel’s military policy: urging more precision-guided weapons rather than the blanket air strikes; discouraging a ground offensive; and calling for a two-state solution, with a role for the Palestinian Authority in post-conflict Gaza.
Mr Kirby said the US has been exceedingly clear about what it wants Gaza to look like after the war.
We want governance in Gaza that’s representative of the aspirations of the Palestinian people, that they have a vote and a voice in what that looks like and that there’s no reoccupation of Gaza, he said.
Washington’s advice has frequently fallen on deaf ears or been met by outright rejection – often publicly so, during visits by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
