Israel has publicly rejected any possibility of moving forward on a two-state resolution to the Palestinian conflict, including any plans that might be proposed by the US, while it is battling to destroy Hamas in Gaza.
“Here in Israel, we are still in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre perpetrated against us by a genocidal Palestinian terrorist organization: Hamas,” government spokesperson Avi Hyman told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday.
He spoke up after a report in The Washington Post said that the United States and its moderate Arab allies are working on a plan for a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Arab conflict based on a clear timeline, which they had hoped to unveil in the coming weeks ahead of the Ramadan holiday period that begins on March 10.
Such a move, Hyman said, would be akin to awarding a prize to Hamas for that attack.
“Now is not the time to be speaking about gifts for the Palestinian people, at a time when the PA itself has yet even to condemn the October 7 massacre,” he said.
Hyman added that the PA has even “suggested in official statements that [the massacre] did not happen or have questioned it.
“Now is the time for victory – total victory – against Hamas, and we will continue on the path to victory,” he said, adding that “all discussions on the day after Hamas, will be had on the day after Hamas.”
Right-wing politicians threaten the possibility of a Palestinian state
Immediately upon hearing of the report, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) said he planned to ask the security cabinet to issue a declaration against a Palestinian state when it met later today.
“We will in no way agree to this plan, which actually says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they did to us – a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Smotrich said.
“The message is that it pays very well to massacre Israeli citizens. A Palestinian state is an existential threat to the State of Israel as was proven on October 7. Kfar Saba will not be Kfar Gaza!” he emphasized.
Smotrich said he planned to demand that the “security cabinet meeting make a clear and unequivocal decision stating that Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and the imposition of sanctions on over half a million settlers.”
“I expect clear support from Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Minister] Benny Gantz, [Minister] Gadi Eisenkot and all the [other] ministers,” Smotrich stated.
Those working on the plan with the US include Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. All of the countries involved have diplomatic relations with Israel, except for Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The Biden administration has sought to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, as part of a security pact it wants to formalize with Riyadh. The kingdom has insisted that Palestinian statehood must be part of such a deal.
Labor Party leader MK Merav Michaeli spoke up in support of the Biden initiative. She blamed October 7 on politicians in the existing government, including Netanyahu, charging that their “constant refusal to seek a solution, the arrogance, racism and bullying, and the unhinged messianic ideology” was at fault. “Their crazy chutzpah must not prevent a solution today.
“[President Joe] Biden is offering Israel the only solution to break the cycle of violence,” she said. “He is offering security; he is offering peace. He is offering that we rebuild together from the terrible disaster of October 7 and create a better future here, for us all.
“Netanyahu’s continued refusal to make a deal, under the pressure of his dangerous partners, will bring unilateral moves to Israel with a Palestinian state being imposed on us. And then, instead of benefiting from this inevitable move, we will become even more pariah-like and isolated,” she warned.
The Washington Post printed its report as top diplomats, politicians, and leaders were expected to convene in Munich for a security conference. Among those expected to attend were Present Isaac Herzog, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Post explained that those involved in this process had hoped to use the diplomatic space – that could be made possible through a hostage deal with an extended pause to the Israel-Hamas war – to put forward a two-state option.
The process would begin already as part of a day-after plan for Gaza with an interim Palestinian government.
US and Arab officials, according to the Post, fear that failure to achieve a hostage deal would make it impossible to create a diplomatic space for such a plan. A two-state plan would be thwarted by the anti-Israel emotions generated as a result of a potential IDF military operation in Rafah.
Biden and Abdullah spoke about the importance of a two-state resolution to the conflict when they met at the White House earlier this week.
At their joint press conference, Biden said, “Together, we will keep working to complete what has – what we – started: to integrate the region; to bring about peace between Israel and all its Arab neighbors, including a Palestinian state. That effort was already underway before the October 7 attacks; it’s even more urgent today.”
Abdullah said that “we must together, along with Arab partners and the international community, step up efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and immediately start working to create a political horizon that leads to a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
The king clarified that this meant “an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital but living side by side with Israel in peace and security.”
Blinken spoke of the importance of a “time-bound, irreversible” path to a Palestinian state when he was in Israel last Thursday.
Netanyahu has been blunt about his opposition to Palestinian statehood, particularly in all of Gaza and the West Bank. He insisted that the IDF must retain security control of those areas, that Israeli settlements in the West Bank must not be uprooted, and that Jerusalem must remain united under Israeli sovereignty.
In an interview with ABC on Sunday, Netanyahu said, “Everybody who talks about a two-state solution, I ask: What do you mean by that?
“Should the Palestinians have an army? Can they sign a military pact with Iran? Can they import rockets from North Korea and other deadly weapons? Should they continue to educate their children about terrorism and annihilation? Of course not!” he said.
“The substance in a future peace agreement, which everyone says is far off, is that the Palestinians should have the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten Israel,” the prime minister said.
“The most important power that has to remain in Israel’s hands is the overriding security control in the area west of the Jordan, which includes Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “Otherwise, history has shown that terrorism comes back.”
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