The Israeli parliament has passed a resolution overwhelmingly rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state, Israeli media reported.
The resolution passed the Knesset with 68 votes in favor and only nine against Thursday morning.
He said a Palestinian state would pose “an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and far-right parties co-sponsored the resolution. Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s center-left party walked out of the session to avoid supporting the statement, despite previously saying it favored a two-state solution, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, criticized the adoption of the resolution.
“No Zionist party, neither in the government nor in the opposition, voted against the resolution,” he wrote on X.
“This resolution represents a rejection of peace with the Palestinians and an official declaration of the death of the Oslo Accords,” Barghouti said.
The Israeli Knesset voted by an absolute majority against the creation of a Palestinian state. No Zionist party, either in government or in opposition, voted against the resolution.
This resolution represents a rejection of peace with the Palestinians and an official declaration…– Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghouti1) July 18, 2024
The Oslo Accords, first signed between Palestinian and Israeli leaders in 1993, called for the creation of a viable, sovereign Palestinian state living side by side with an Israeli state.
But Israel continues to adopt policies such as building illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and a complete blockade of Gaza.
Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the resolution on social media, saying the Knesset’s rejection “confirms the racism of the occupying state and its disregard for international law and international legitimacy, as well as its insistence on the approach and policy of perpetuating the occupation forever.”
Jordan’s foreign ministry said approval of the resolution constituted a “dangerous” violation of international law.
“Israel’s continued efforts to deny the Palestinians’ inalienable right to their independent and sovereign state on the model of June 4, 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, bring neither security nor peace to the region,” a statement quoted ministry spokesman Sufyan al-Qudah as saying.
The Times of Israel quoted the resolution as saying: “It will only be a matter of time before Hamas takes control of the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terrorist base, working in coordination with the Iranian-led axis to eliminate the State of Israel.”
He added that a Palestinian state at this time would be a “reward for terrorism and would only encourage Hamas and its supporters to view this as a victory,” referring to the attacks by Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel that sparked the current conflict.
This decision is not new for the Knesset, however, which has already rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.
A growing number of countries have recognized the Palestinian state, including Spain, Slovenia, Norway, Ireland and others.
The resolution comes as Netanyahu is set to address the US Congress next week in Washington, DC, sparking divisions among Democratic Party lawmakers who have spoken out against Israel’s conduct in its war on Gaza.
On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank doomed any prospect of a two-state solution.
Through administrative and legal measures, Israel is changing the geography of the West Bank, Guterres said in a statement read by his chief of staff, Courtenay Rattray, at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“Recent events are a milestone in any prospect of a two-state solution,” he said. “We must change course. All settlement activities must cease immediately.”
The UN chief added that the settlements were a flagrant violation of international law and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.
