ISRAEL’S KNESSET VOTES TO REJECT PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

Thu 18 July 2024:

Israel’s parliament has passed a resolution that overwhelmingly rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state, Israeli media reported.

The resolution passed in the Knesset with 68 votes in favour and just nine against it early on Thursday.

It said that a Palestinian state would pose “an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region”.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with far-right parties co-sponsored the resolution. Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s centre-left party left the session to avoid supporting the statement, despite previously saying he favoured a two-state solution, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.

Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, slammed the passing of the resolution.

“No Zionist party from both the government and the opposition voted against the resolution,” he wrote on X.

“This resolution represents a rejection of peace with Palestinians and an official declaration of the death of [the] Oslo agreement,” Barghouti posted.

The Israeli kneset voted with absolute majority against the establishment of a Palestinian State . No zionist party from both the government and the opposition voted against the resolution.
This resolution represents a rejection of peace with Palestinians and an official…

— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) July 18, 2024

The Oslo Accords, which were first signed between Palestinian and Israeli leaders in 1993, called for a viable and sovereign Palestinian state living side by side with an Israeli state.

But Israel has continued to adopt policies such as building illegal settlements on Palestinian lands across the occupied West Bank and a complete blockade of Gaza.

Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the resolution on social media, saying the Knesset’s rejection “confirms the racism of the occupying state and its disregard for international law and international legitimacy, and its insistence on the approach and policy of perpetuating the occupation forever”.

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the resolution’s approval was a “dangerous” violation of international law.

“Israel’s continued efforts to deny the Palestinians’ inalienable right to their independent and sovereign state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, does not bring security and peace in the region,” read a statement citing the ministry’s spokesperson Sufyan al-Qudah.

The Times of Israel quoted the resolution as saying: “It will only be a matter of a short time until Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terror base, working in coordination with the Iranian-led axis to eliminate the State of Israel.”

It added that a Palestinian state at this time would be a “reward for terrorism and will only encourage Hamas and its supporters to see this as a victory”, referring to the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 in southern Israel that triggered the current conflict.

The decision, however, is not new for the Knesset which has previously rejected Palestinian statehood.

A growing number of countries have recognised Palestinian statehood, including Spain, Slovenia, Norway, Ireland and others.

The resolution comes as Netanyahu is expected to address the United States Congress next week in Washington, DC, which has caused divisions among Democratic Party lawmakers who have spoken out against Israel’s conduct in its war on Gaza.

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Israel’s policy in the occupied West Bank was dooming any prospect of a two-state solution.

Through administrative and legal steps, Israel is changing the geography of the West Bank, Guterres said in a statement read by his chief of staff, Courtenay Rattray, during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

“Recent developments are driving a stake through the heart of any prospect for a two-state solution,” he said. “We must change course. All settlement activity must cease immediately.”

The UN chief added that the settlements were a flagrant violation of international law and an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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