Netanyahu Rejects Palestinian State Plan Ahead Of UN DK Resolution Vote Today

Illustration of the State of Palestine. (Source: UN Photo/Manuel Elvis)

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again expressed his rejection of the Palestinian State's plans ahead of the vote on the United Nations Security Council's draft resolution on the Gaza Strip on Monday.

Speaking on Sunday, Netanyahu said it was done as an effort to calm his far-right allies in his government.

"Our opposition to the Palestinian State in any region west of the Jordan River, this opposition is real, valid, and has not changed in the slightest," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu's comments came two days after Israel's most important ally, the United States, proposed a UN resolution draft on the Gaza peace process, which, for the first time, contains references to the Palestinian Statehood.

The 15-member UN Security Council is conducting negotiations on the draft, which will certify Trump's proposal for the " Peace Council" and transitional government in Gaza to address various issues, including postwar reconstruction and economic recovery. Voting is expected to take place on Monday.

The latest draft states that after the reform program for the Palestinian Authority is " seriously implemented and Gaza's rebuilding has advanced, conditions may finally be available for a credible path towards self-determination and the Palestinian state".

The draft is also committed to "building dialogue between Israel and Palestine to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence".

These points sparked the anger of prominent figures in the far right of Israel, testing the awkward Netanyahu governing coalition consisting of conservatives and ultra-nationalists.

On Saturday, far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich urged Netanyahu to denounce the Palestinian state's idea. Ben-Gvir threatened to leave the governing coalition if the Prime Minister did not act.

In an effort to strengthen the government's position, Israeli Defense Minister Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also issued a statement regarding X against the Palestinian State on Sunday. "Israel's policy is clear: no Palestinian nation will be established," Katz said.

In a separate statement, Saar said: "Israel will not approve the formation of a Palestinian terror state at the heart of the Land of Israel, with a very close range from all its population centers and with topographic control over them."

Netanyahu said he had rejected attempts to establish a Palestinian state for decades and that he was "excited either against pressure from the outside or from the inside. So, I don't need confirmation, tweets, or lectures from anyone," he said.

Netanyahu further said "Gaza will be demilitarized, and Hamas will be stripped".

"Whether this will happen in an easy way or in a difficult way. This is what I said, and this is what President Trump also said," he added.

It is said that the ceasefire in Gaza initiated by President Trump with the support of the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, ended a fierce battle between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, after two years of war that devastated the Palestinian territories and sparked conflict in the Middle East.