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Jerusalem: The Israeli government has approved a resolution rejecting any international attempts to impose a Palestinian state on Israel, saying that Israel would have to directly negotiate any “permanent” arrangement with the Palestinians.
The largely symbolic move followed recent comments from some of Israel’s allies suggesting that they might consider simply recognising a Palestinian state before any agreement between Israel and the Palestinians was achieved.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who brought the resolution to his cabinet, described its approval as a “declarative decision” that was needed “in light of remarks that have been heard recently in the international community”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a gathering of Jewish leaders at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on Sunday.Credit: AP
The resolution – which bolsters a position Netanyahu had staked out several times in recent days – comes as the Biden administration has been trying to broker a deal for the normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. US and Saudi officials have said the prospect of that happening hinges on Israel agreeing to work towards a two-state solution – meaning the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Netanyahu has rebuffed recent pressure from President Joe Biden to agree to that path after the war in the Gaza Strip is over and has doubled down on his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.
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The final wording of the Israeli government’s resolution appeared to have been carefully crafted with the aim of accommodating both ultranationalist members of Netanyahu’s right-wing government, who oppose the very notion of negotiations with the Palestinians, and the centrists who joined the government to help oversee the war in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7.
It did not explicitly rule out the possibility of Palestinian statehood, focusing instead on the process.
“Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the resolution read, adding, “A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions”.