Israeli officials rebuff Biden push for Palestinian state
US and the Arab states see Oct. 7 massacre as catalyst for urgent creation of Palestinian state; Israeli officials: ‘No way!’
US President Joe Biden and several Arabs states are working frantically to present a comprehensive plan for the “day after” the Gaza war. Central to the scheme is a firm, irreversible timeline leading to the birth of a Palestinian Arab state, reported The Washington Post.
Israeli lawmakers reacted angrily on Thursday morning.
“We will in no way agree to this plan, which in truth is a reward to the Palestinians for the terrible massacre they carried out against us,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in remarks posted to X (formerly Twitter).
He continued by warning the Biden administration that it was sending a message to the Palestinians and all enemies of Israel “that it pays very well to massacre Israeli citizens.” Failing to grasp how such actions and gestures are perceived in the Middle East will perpetuate, not resolve the conflict.
Following the savage terrorist invasion of October 7, Smotrich said it was more clear than ever before that “a Palestinian state is an existential threat to the State of Israel.”
While the two-state solution was still supported by a slim majority of Israelis prior to the Oct. 7 attacks, polls over the past three months show that a firm majority of Israelis now vehemently oppose a sovereign Palestinian state on their borders.
Smotrich stressed that the Israeli government must issue a clear response to the American-Arab push for a Palestinian state.
Member of Knesset Ze’ev Elkin had much the same response, tweeting: “Not going to happen! The establishment of a Palestinian state means the establishment of a Hamas state. [Hamas] will win any election.”
Indeed, contrary to the assessments of the Biden administration, Hamas continues to enjoy broad support among Palestinian Arabs. In fact, its popularity has risen since October 7 of last year, so much so that the Palestinian Authority of Israel’s supposed peace partner Mahmoud Abbas is now keen to forge a unity government with Hamas, lest it be seen as opposing the will of the people.
Elkin went on to highlight the hypocrisy of Biden’s position, noting that “no one proposed that the United States establish an Al-Qaeda-ruled state following the events of September 11,” and urged Washington to take into account the position of the Israeli public.
Back in December, when Biden first started insisting that the outcome of the October 7 atrocities must be a fresh embrace of Palestinian statehood, former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar delivered a fiery rebuttal, telling the Americans:
“God forbid that after paying compound interest for the mistakes of the past, we return to the path of retreat, weakness and concessions.
“God forbid that after paying with the blood of our sons, we return to the illusions of the past.
“We will not agree to a Palestinian terrorist state – not in Judea and Samaria, and not in Gaza!”
It is notable that both Elkin and Sa’ar are senior members of Benny Gantz’s National Camp party, which was in the opposition until joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to form an emergency unity government in the wake of the Hamas invasion.
Current polls suggest Gantz and his party will win the next election, and that he will be Israel’s next prime minister. Remarks from the Biden White House indicate that the Americans are counting on this to advance their agenda, knowing that the hardline right-wingers of Netanyahu’s coalition will never permit the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But, once again, the Americans aren’t really listening. The statements by Elkin and Sa’ar, and even Gantz himself, reflect the mood of the vast majority of Israelis, and signal that a Palestinian state is a non-starter, regardless of who’s prime minister in Jerusalem.
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