The Israeli government formally rejects the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Israeli government on Sunday approved a resolution rejecting all international attempts to impose a Palestinian state on Israel, saying Israel should negotiate a “permanent” settlement directly with the Palestinians.
The largely symbolic move followed recent comments from some Israeli allies suggesting they might consider simply recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who presented the resolution to his cabinet, described its adoption as a “declarative decision” that was necessary “in light of comments recently heard in the international community.”
The resolution — which reinforces a position Netanyahu has taken several times in recent days — comes as the Biden administration tries to strike a deal to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. U.S. and Saudi officials have said the prospect of that depends on whether Israel agrees to work toward a two-state solution — that is, the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Mr Netanyahu has rejected recent pressure from President Biden to agree to that path after the war in Gaza is over, and in recent weeks has doubled down on his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.
The final wording of the Israeli government's resolution appeared to be carefully crafted to accommodate both ultranationalist members of Netanyahu's right-wing government, who oppose the idea of negotiations with the Palestinians, and the centrists who join the government have joined. helping monitor the war in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas-led attack.
It did not explicitly rule out the possibility of a Palestinian state, but instead focused on the process.
“Israel completely rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the resolution read, adding: “A settlement, if one is to be reached, will be achieved exclusively through direct negotiations between the parties, without prior conditions.”
David Cameron, the British Foreign Secretary, said last month that a top priority is to give the Palestinian people “a political horizon so that they can see that there will be irreversible progress towards a two-state solution and, crucially , the creation of a Palestinian country.” state.” That led to speculation that Britain might be willing to initiate talks on formal recognition of Palestinian statehood.
After meeting on Friday with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Macron of France said: “Recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France.” It was unclear whether Macron was referring to France's long-standing support for a two-state solution in general, or the idea of giving early recognition before a negotiated deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians is reached.
The Israeli government's decision concluded that the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks would “provide a huge and unprecedented reward for terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement.”
Benny Gantz, the leader of the centrist party who joined Netanyahu's government in October, said Sunday that the normalization process with Saudi Arabia was an important effort he was trying to advance. But in a speech at a conference in Jerusalem, Mr. Gantz added that he “would like to emphasize to our friends around the world: after October 7, the path to regional stability and peace is not through unilateral actions such as the recognition of a Palestinian state that has not reached an agreement in advance with the State of Israel.”
Gabby Sobelman reporting contributed.