The Knesset passed a proposal saying that it was opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River late on Wednesday night. The vote passed with 68 in favor of the proposal and 9 against.
The move was put forward by the New Hope-United Right party MK Ze’ev Elkin and was supported by Yisrael Beytenu and The Land of Israel lobby, which has members from across the party spectrum, such as Likud, Shas, and National Unity Party.
The proposal would determine the Knesset’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.
It says that the establishment of a Palestinian state in “the heart of the Land of Israel” would pose an “existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
It also says that this would perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and would further destabilize the region.
The proposal also says that a Palestinian state would quickly be taken over by Hamas, which would then use Palestine to launch attacks on Israel.
It calls the establishment of a Palestinian state in the aftermath of October 7 “a reward for terrorism” and that such a reward would only encourage Hamas and other Jihadist groups, who would use it as a prelude to taking over the Middle East.
“We expect members of the Knesset to actively support the proposed resolution, which is intended to express the overwhelming opposition that exists in the people to the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the security of Israel and its future and which is intended to be a step towards its destruction. A broad stance and a clear decision by the Knesset will prove to the international community that pressures to impose a Palestinian state on Israel will be futile,” New Hope MK Gideon Sa’ar said.
Cross-party consensus
Notably, National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz supported the proposal alongside three other members of his party, which is considered centrist. The three were MKs Michael Biton, Pnina Tameno-Shete, and Chili Tropper.
Gantz said after the vote, “National Unity is committed in any future political scenario, as long as it exists, to preserve the Jewish and democratic identity of the State of Israel, and to stand up for its historical right and security interests.”
The vote does not have legal significance, and is declaratory. However, it came at a sensitive time, just ahead of Netanyahu’s trip to the US, and ahead of an upcoming opinion from the International Court of Justice over the legality of Israel’s control over the West Bank.
The measure was intended as a way to apply pressure on Netanyahu, since he is likely to face opposite pressure from US officials on a hostage deal that could include future discussions of Palestinian sovereignty.
Netanyahu himself was not present at the vote.
The vote was also notable since Netanyahu blocked a similar measure in February and chose instead to vote on a declaration that Israel opposed “unilateral” Palestinian statehood but did not oppose Palestinian statehood categorically.
Members of the New Hope-United Right Party, Likud, Shas, National Unity Party, United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, Yisrael Beytenu, and Religious Zionism Party have signed the proposal, although several have requested that their signatures be withdrawn.
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