Israeli ministers insist there will be no Palestinian state
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have reiterated the government’s stance that it will not accept a Palestinian state.
“Israel’s policy is clear: There will be no Palestinian state,” Katz said on X, adding that Gaza would be “demilitarised down to the last tunnel”, and Hamas disarmed by the Israeli military in parts of Gaza under its control and by the international stabilisation force or the Israeli military in the rest of the enclave.
In a separate post on X, Saar said Israel “would not agree” to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The comments came after two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, called on Netanyahu to assert that Israel would never accept the establishment of a Palestinian state.
They made their demands after the release of a US-organised joint statement on Friday by nations including Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia that asserted US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza offered a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu seen as main ‘obstacle’ to Trump’s Gaza plan
Netanyahu is “openly signalling” that he is opposed to moving to the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire, an analysis piece in Israeli news outlet Haaretz says.
This comes as the UN Security Council is expected to vote on the adoption of a draft resolution on Gaza on Monday, which could approve Trump’s Gaza plan.
The Haaretz analysis said the US’s Arab partners see Netanyahu as “the biggest obstacle to Trump’s efforts to advance Gaza plans” and “as someone who will not allow any progress towards a Palestinian state”.
A defence official told Haaretz last week that senior political leaders remain adamant about keeping the Rafah crossing closed, even though reopening this border point – the only one not fully controlled by Israel – was supposed to be part of the agreement’s initial phase.
According to Haaretz, promises reportedly conveyed to Hamas by the US, and which were said to be linked to the return of Israel’s soldier Hadar Goldin’s body, have not led to any progress on resolving the situation of the armed Hamas fighters stranded east of the yellow line.
Netanyahu reiterates opposition to Palestinian state
Netanyahu has again rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state and insisted that Gaza will be “demilitarised” and Hamas “disarmed”.
“Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. Gaza will be demilitarised, and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures,” Netanyahu said at a government meeting.
“Even in [Trump’s] 20-point plan and in everything else, this territory will be demilitarised, and Hamas will be disarmed.
“And regarding a Palestinian state: Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan River, this opposition is existing, valid and has not changed one bit.”
