Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, late on Thursday, declared that he was against a plan to have a Palestinian state recognized internationally because it “would offer an enormous reward to terrorism.”
Following similar denials from prominent far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in response to The Washington Post stories about the plot, comes Netanyahu’s remarks.
According to a newspaper story that quoted a number of US and Arab diplomats, the US, Israel’s principal friend, is collaborating with a number of Arab nations on a comprehensive plan for enduring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to the media, the plan included a specific schedule for the creation of a Palestinian state.
“Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” Netanyahu said in a post in Hebrew on social media platform X.
“Such recognition, in the wake of the October 7 massacre, would offer an enormous reward to unprecedented terrorism and would prevent any future peace agreement,” he said.
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“Israel categorically rejects international diktats concerning a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” he added, saying that a peace agreement could only result from “direct negotiations without preconditions.”
According to The Washington Post, the initiative is set to commence with a ceasefire projected to endure for a minimum of six weeks. Officials express optimism about reaching an accord prior to the onset of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10.
The prospective agreement entails a cessation of hostilities, the liberation of hostages detained by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attack, and a schedule for the eventual formation of a Palestinian state.
“We will never agree to such a plan, which in reality says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they have committed,” Smotrich wrote on X, describing a Palestinian state as “an existential threat to the State of Israel.”
AFP