UK: Netanyahu wrong to reject two-state plan
Shapps says Israeli prime minister’s dismissal of US call for Palestinian statehood is ‘disappointing’
THE UK has said it is “very disappointing” that the Israeli prime minister continues to reject the creation of a Palestinian state.
Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, said it was regrettable to see Benjamin Netanyahu reiterate his objection to the proposal, stressing the UK “certainly remains wedded” to the idea as there “isn’t another obvious way out of this”.
It comes after the Israeli leader said that he dismissed US president Joe Biden’s call for a two-state solution, declaring he reserves the right to say “no to our friends”.
His remarks appeared to knock back plans to tie Palestinian statehood to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia,
‘Which other route is there to resolves this? Palestinians deserve a sovereign state’
‘This is morally and practically wrong. Statehood is not in the gift of a neighbour, it is a right’
which would be brokered by the US. Mr Netanyahu’s team went on to say that after Hamas is destroyed, Israel “must retain security control over Gaza” – a requirement that “contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty”.
Addressing the comments yesterday, Mr Shapps said it was “disappointing” to hear Mr Netanyahu reject the idea, as Palestinians “deserve a sovereign state”.
“I think it’s very disappointing that Benjamin Netanyahu has said that. It’s not in some sense a surprise – he’s spent his entire political career against a twostate solution,” he told the BBC’S Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
“But the point is, which other route is there to seriously resolve this? Palestinians deserve a sovereign state, Israel deserves to have the full ability to defend itself, its own security, in other words. And unless you pursue a twostate solution, I really don’t see that there is another solution.”
He added that the UK will “very much distinguish between the views of individuals and our overall support for Israel as a country”, as the Israeli government is a “rainbow coalition” of politicians with a variety of different opinions.
Earlier, speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, he emphasised the importance of a solution that is “sovereign” on the Palestinian side while providing “security guarantees” for the Israelis.
“There isn’t another option. The whole world has agreed that a two-state solution is the best way forward,” he said.
“The British Government absolutely backs that as a solution. It needs to be viable, it needs to be sovereign on the Palestinian side, it needs to provide security guarantees on the Israeli side. And there isn’t another obvious way out of this.
“So I thought that was a disappointing comment [from Mr Netanyahu]. The United Kingdom certainly remains wedded to that.”
Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper reiterated Labour’s view that Mr Netanyahu’s remarks were “completely unacceptable”, referring back to a speech by her colleague David Lammy on Saturday. “He was very clear that those words from Netanyahu were completely unacceptable,” she told Phillips.
It came as the EU urged member states to impose “consequences” on Israel if Mr Netanyahu continued to oppose Palestinian statehood.
In a document circulated to EU foreign ministers ahead of a meeting today, Brussels proposed member states “set out the consequeces they envisage to attach to engagement or non engagement” with their proposed peace plan, the Financial Times reported .
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, told Mr Netanyahu on a visit to Israel last week that the US hoped to see a pathway to an internationally-recognised Palestinian state.
The message was repeated by Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden’s national security adviser, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week.
But in a televised broadcast on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu rejected the idea and suggested he would stand up to the US’S plans for the region, despite Washington’s backing for Israel since Hamas’s terror attacks on Oct 7 last year.
“In any future arrangement… Israel needs security control of all territory west of the Jordan,” he said. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”
He added: “The prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends.”
Mr Biden has since voiced hope that a two-state solution is still possible even while Mr Netanyahu remains in office, following a call with the Israeli leader on Friday. The US president said Mr Netanyahu was not opposed to all twostate solutions, and there were a number of possible ideas.
But in a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Mr Netanyahu told Mr Biden that “after Hamas is destroyed, Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty”.