Israel officially rejects two-state solution
Government claims international community trying to ‘unilaterally’ impose Palestinian state
‘Such recognition in the wake of the Oct 7 massacre will grant a huge reward to terrorism’
ISRAEL has formally opposed international efforts to create a two-state solution as a rift with its allies widens.
Its government said the international community was trying to “unilaterally” impose the creation of a Palestinian state to bring peace in the Middle East.
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said this month that Britain could officially recognise a Palestinian state, while Joe Biden, the US president, has pushed for a two-state solution.
Ultranationalist segments of the Israeli cabinet have been pushing for the government to preempt any direct or indirect recognition of Palestinian statehood by its allies.
After a cabinet meeting yesterday, the Israeli government said that any recognition of Palestinian statehood would reward “terrorism” and should only come through direct negotiations with Israel.
It said: “Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the Oct 7 massacre will grant a huge, unprecedented reward to terrorism and prevent any future peace accord.” Yesterday, the Times of Israel reported that the US ambassador to Israel dismissed the idea that the US could recognise a Palestinian state without the consent of Israel.
Jack Lew said: “We have never said there should be a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.”
The vote by the Israeli cabinet comes as international pressure grows to negotiate a solution to the Middle East conflict with a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel.
As Israel’s military operation in Gaza has progressed, there has been mounting frustration from its allies over its execution.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has devastated much of Gaza and forced almost all of its inhabitants from their homes. Palestinian health authorities have said that 28,985 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.
More than half of Gaza’s population has been pushed into Rafah, which Israel plans to storm despite strong opposition from Britain and the US.
Yesterday, Israeli planes carried out attacks on two areas in Rafah, including an empty building near the border with Egypt, local residents and Hamas media officials said.
The second of the two strikes hit an open space where displaced people were sheltering, killing six people, according to local medics.
In Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital has become the latest focal point of the fighting. It was put completely out of service yesterday, the UN said.
Ashraf al-qidra, a Gaza health ministry spokesman, said: “It’s gone completely out of service. There are only four medical teams – 25 staff – currently caring for patients inside the facility.”
Nasser Hospital used to be the largest functioning hospital in Gaza. Israeli troops raided it on Thursday, detaining a number of suspects, after several days of intense bombardment. The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged Israel to grant its staff access to the hospital, where it said Israel’s week-long siege and raids had stopped them from helping patients. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, said: “Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel.”
Despite the heavy loss of civilian life in Gaza, the US signalled yesterday it would veto an upcoming vote in the 15-member United Nation Security Council demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.