Netanyahu Tells US There Will Be No Palestinian State in Any Post-War Scenario

He says Israel must control 'the entire territory west of the Jordan River'

by Dave DeCamp January 18, 2024

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/18/netanyahu-tells-us-there-will-be-no-palestinian-state-in-any-post-war-scenario/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he has told the US there will be no Palestinian state in any post-war scenario and that Israel must control all of the territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the West Bank and Gaza.

“In any future arrangement … Israel needs security control all territory west of the Jordan,” Netanyahu said at a news conference. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”

His comments came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the creation of a Palestinian state. Other US officials have floated the idea of linking Israeli-Saudi normalization with the creation of a Palestinian state in the future, but Netanyahu has rejected both ideas.

“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

A report from NBC News published on Wednesday said the US was looking past Netanyahu for any future arrangement, with one official saying the Israeli leader “will not be there forever.”

Netanyahu responded to the report by suggesting he’s the only thing preventing a Palestinian state. “Whoever is talking about the ‘day after Netanyahu’ is essentially talking about the establishment of a Palestinian state with the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded to Netanyahu’s comments about no Palestinian state. “We obviously see it differently,” he said. While the Biden administration claims it opposes the Israeli occupation of Gaza once the conflict is over, it continues to provide Israel with unconditional military aid and other types of support.

So far, the Israeli slaughter in Gaza has killed over 24,000 Palestinians and wounded over 60,000. As the conflict drags on, many more Palestinians could die of starvation and disease caused by the brutal siege. According to a report on Israeli TV, Netanyahu said this week that the campaign could continue into 2025.