Lawmakers vote to support PM’s rejection of any “unilateral” recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of any “unilateral” recognition of Palestinian statehood amid growing international calls to restart negotiations on Palestinian statehood.
Wednesday’s symbolic statement, issued during Israel’s war on Gaza, also received support from opposition members with 99 of 120 lawmakers voting in favor, a Knesset spokesperson said.
The Israeli position is that any permanent agreement with the Palestinians must be reached through direct negotiations between the two sides and not through international dictates.
This is despite Netanyahu openly declaring his opposition to a Palestinian state and presenting himself to the Israeli public as a bulwark against such a state. No discussions on the creation of a Palestinian state have taken place since 2014, when Israel refused to accept a state encompassing all of the Palestinian territory illegally occupied by Israel.
“The Knesset came together overwhelmingly against the attempt to impose on us the creation of a Palestinian state, which would not only fail to bring peace, but would endanger the State of Israel,” said Netanyahu.
The vote was condemned by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, which accused Israel of holding the rights of the Palestinian people hostage by occupying territories where Palestinians seek to establish a state.
“The ministry reaffirms that full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations and its recognition by other nations does not require authorization from Netanyahu,” it said in a statement.
Willem Marx, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said that in recent weeks, senior officials around the world have called for recognition of Palestinian statehood as part of any long-term agreement to bring about a end the current bloodshed.
“What we saw a few days ago from the Israeli cabinet was a symbolic vote, saying that they would reject the establishment, the recognition of a Palestinian state if it was imposed on Israel from outside Israel,” Marx said, referring to international pressure on Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and accept a two-state solution.
“In terms of symbolism (regarding Wednesday’s parliamentary vote), this was intended as a message from Netanyahu, as he has made clear, to let the world know that Israelis are united on this specific issue of statehood. Palestinian which is imposed on them by external powers. .”
Little progress has been made toward a two-state solution – establishing a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel – since the signing of the Oslo Interim Accords in the early 1990s.
Among the obstacles hindering the creation of a Palestinian state are the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The settlements, which in many areas isolate Palestinian communities from each other others, are considered a violation of international law.
The two-state solution has long been at the heart of Western policy in the region. Since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza in October, the United States has tried to promote measures aimed at creating a Palestinian state as part of a broader Middle East deal that would include Saudi Arabia and other Arab states officially normalizing relations with Israel.
However, many critics point out that Israel’s actions towards the Palestinians – including settlement expansion – have made any prospect of a sovereign Palestinian state and a one-state future impossible, whether it acts as a continuation of the occupation or a state with equal rights. rights for all, a reality.
