02/18/2024 4:42 pm (current 02/18/2024 4:50 pm)
Prime Minister Netanyahu's cabinet meeting ©APA/AFP
The Israeli government rejects a peace agreement with the Palestinians imposed by international parties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet unanimously approved a statement to that effect on Sunday. A peace agreement is only conceivable as a result of direct negotiations between both sides, without preconditions, he said.
“Israel continues to reject the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” the government’s decision also said. “Such recognition in the wake of the October 7th massacre would be an enormous price to pay for unprecedented terror and would impede any future peace agreement.”
The government followed the Prime Minister's instructions in its decisions. Netanyahu was responding to media reports that the United States and other allies could recognize a Palestinian state without Israeli consent. Before the vote, Netanyahu spoke about “talks recently heard in the international community about the attempt to unilaterally impose a Palestinian state on Israel.”
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Today, around 700,000 Israeli settlers live there, among three million Palestinians. Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The United Nations granted Palestine observer state status in 2012. Of the 193 UN member states, 139 have so far recognized Palestine as an independent state. Austria, Germany and USA are not included. Until now, they have always emphasized that a Palestinian state had to be agreed upon as part of peace negotiations with Israel. However, these have been idle for a decade.