2024-02-18T14:54:53+00:00
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/ The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday categorically and officially refused to sign a document that rejects unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
“Such recognition after the events of October 7 would give terrorism a huge prize, an unprecedented prize, which would prevent any future peace settlement,” the Israeli cabinet said in a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
The Council added, “Israel categorically rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, as such a settlement will only be reached through direct negotiations between the two sides, without preconditions.”
At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the move came after “the latest rumours in the international community about an attempt to unilaterally impose a Palestinian state on Israel.”
He said the official statement reflects that “Israel rejects explicit international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement can only be reached through direct negotiations between the two sides, without preconditions.”
Earlier, The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu’s office denied reports that he had agreed to a US proposal to recognize a Palestinian state.
This comes after other Israeli media reported that Netanyahu is considering reaching an “actual” agreement with Washington to recognize the Palestinian state in exchange for normalization with a number of countries in the region.