The United States is pushing for Palestine to become a sovereign state, a move that has upset Israel.
According to emerging details, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a 40-minute phone conversation with US President Joe Biden during which he signalled a move for Palestinian statehood.
However, Netanyahu rejected all plans for unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood after he spoke with US President Joe Biden.
“At the cabinet meeting, I clarified my position regarding the recent talk of imposing a Palestinian state on Israel,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.
“These two sentences sum up my position,” he explained.
״Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent arrangements with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions,” Netanyahu wrote.
“Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement,” Netanyahu stressed.
He spoke in the early hours of Friday after The Washington Post published an article the previous day about US plans with Arab allies to advance a two-state resolution to the conflict as part of a larger regional arrangement that would involve a Gaza ceasefire and Saudi normalization with Israel.
A number of European countries have also weighed unilateral Palestinian statehood recognition in light of the Israel-Hamas war.
Netanyahu has rejected full Palestinian statehood in favor of an autonomous Palestinian government in territory outside sovereign Israel but under IDF security control.
Netanyahu’s comments come amid growing tension between him and Biden over critical issues regarding the Gaza war and the hostages.
CIA Director William Burns was in Israel on Thursday to discuss the stalled hostage talks with Netanyahu, a top that was also raised during the Prime Minister’s call with Biden.
Hamas has insisted that any deal must include a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza, two dictates Israel has rejected.
