JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Sunday that his government remains opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, responding to pressure from far-right coalition partners angered by international support for a new US-backed Gaza peace initiative.
The backlash erupted after the United States and several Muslim-majority countries endorsed a draft UN resolution supporting President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which outlines a pathway toward Palestinian self-determination if reforms occur within the Palestinian Authority. Far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich demanded Netanyahu publicly reject any move toward Palestinian statehood, with Ben-Gvir threatening to quit the coalition.
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Netanyahu said Israel’s stance “has not changed”, insisting Gaza would be demilitarised and Hamas disarmed. A collapse of the far-right bloc could destabilise the coalition well before elections due by October 2026. Israel’s defence and foreign ministers also issued statements opposing Palestinian independence.
On the ground, Israeli troops on Sunday killed four Palestinians — three in southern Gaza and one in the occupied West Bank — according to Al Jazeera. The deaths came as tensions remain high after two years of war and extensive destruction across Gaza.
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Netanyahu had previously embraced Trump’s Gaza plan, which ended major fighting, but had avoided commenting directly on statehood in recent months. Far-right leaders have accused him of silence, urging him to declare unequivocally that “a Palestinian state will never arise”.