NEWSRAEL: Biden is trying to force a Palestinian state on Israel, thinking only Netanyahu rejects this. The truth is that Gantz, Netanyahu's rival also firmly rejects Biden's move.
"Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians," the text begins.
(February 18, 2024 / JNS) The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday approved a statement rejecting any unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, amid reports the Biden administration is considering such a move.
“In light of remarks that have been heard recently in the international community about an attempt to unilaterally force a Palestinian state on Israel, today I submit for government approval a declarative decision on the issue. I am certain that it will receive very broad support,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.
His office subsequently released the text of the statement:
1. Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.
2. Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7th massacre would be a massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism and would prevent any future peace settlement.
According to Ynet, Netanyahu coordinated the statement with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and Cabinet Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
Sa’ar said that the reported U.S. proposal for a “firm timeline” on the creation of a Palestinian state “would be like the sacrificing of Czechoslovakia in 1938,” referring to the Munich Agreement and West’s attempted appeasement of Hitler prior to WWII and the Holocaust.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement describing as “fake news” an Israel Hayom report claiming he was considering a “de facto” agreement with Washington to recognize a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, a senior source in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to JNS that there was no truth to the Israel Hayom report.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Riyadh would suffice with a declared Israeli commitment to the two-state solution in order to normalize ties with Jerusalem as part of a broad agreement including a defense pact with the United States.