Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem on July 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
An Israeli parliament vote to oppose a Palestinian state as an “existential threat”, just days ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, brought Palestinian and international criticism on July 18.
The 120-member Knesset late on Wednesday passed by 68 votes to nine a resolution that said a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel would “perpetuate the Israel-Palestinian conflict and destabilise the region”.
The resolution is symbolic but lays down a marker before Mr. Netanyahu’s Washington trip as well as an opinion to be issued by the International Court of Justice over the legality of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
“The Knesset firmly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state (on land) west of Jordan,” said the resolution, referring to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by the war unleashed by the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“The creation of a Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel would constitute an existential danger for the state of Israel and its citizens, would perpetuate the Israel-Palestinian conflict and destabilise the region.”
It predicted that Hamas would take over the state and turn it into “a radical Islamic terrorist base” seeking to destroy Israel.
The resolution said “promoting” a Palestinian state was “a reward for terrorism and would only encourage Hamas and its supporters” after the October 7 attacks.
The Palestinian Authority said there would be “neither peace nor security for anyone without the establishment of a Palestinian state”. It accused Israel’s ruling coalition of “plunging the region into an abyss”.
Watch: Israel-Palestine conflict: What’s the two-state solution?
The French foreign ministry expressed “consternation” at the resolution that it said was “in contradiction with resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council”.
The Knesset voted by an even larger majority in February against countries unilaterally backing a Palestinian state. Spain, Ireland, Norway and Armenia have since said they recognised a Palestinian state.
The latest Knesset resolution was proposed by a right-wing deputy in opposition to Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition of conservative and far-right parties. However, coalition deputies and some centrist lawmakers voted in favour.
