Knesset opposes Palestinian state prior to Netanyahu’s Washington trip

The Knesset issued a declaration opposing Palestinian statehood in advance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly publicized trip to Washington next week.

“We will not succeed in convincing our friends in the world if we do not speak clearly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, which is a threat to the State of Israel,” New Hope - United Right Party head MK Gideon Sa’ar told the plenum on Wednesday after the 68-9 vote on the text.

“We need to go back to talking about [former prime minister] Menachem Begin’s idea of [Palestinian] autonomy,” said Sa’ar whose party is in the opposition.

“Foreign sovereignty to the west of the Jordan River, cannot exist,” Sa’ar said as he warned against any Israeli withdrawal from that territory.

“Every area we withdrew from becomes a terror zone,” he stressed.

The declaration makes it harder for Netanyahu while in Washington to walk a delicate diplomatic tightrope between the need to assure his allies that such Palestinian statehood is possible while clarifying for his political base in Israel that this will not happen.

Netanyahu had hoped that the previous Knesset declaration in February opposing unilateral Palestinians, which had the support of 99 of the 120-member body, would serve that precise dual purpose. 

That February declaration kept the door to Palestinian statehood open, because it stated, “A settlement [to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict], if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.”

That kind of flexibility is particularly important in light of the US push for a Saudi deal that would include a pathway to Palestinian statehood.

Cross-party consensus

Netanyahu who voted for that February declaration, was absent from Wednesday’s vote against Palestinian statehood. 

The two declarations have no practical implications, but they provide a roadmap with regard to the political will of Israeli politicians, who would in the future, have to vote on the issue. 

Of particular note, was the position taken on Wednesday by National Unity Party head Benny Gantz, who voted to oppose Palestinian statehood, along with three parliamentarians from his party, Michael Biton, Pnina Tameno-Shete, and Chili Tropper.

Gantz has been consistently polling higher than Netanyahu and is considered at this point to be his leading political rival in the next elections.

Wednesday’s anti-Palestinian declaration was put forward by MK Ze’ev Elkin [New Hope - United Right], with the support of the Land of Israel Caucus. It also had the backing of the opposition party Yisrael Beytenu and all the coalition parties. 

Many of the parliamentarians from the center and the left, were not in the plenum during the vote.

Elkin charged that they were absent because they knew that even their voters opposed Palestinian statehood.

“You will see many empty chairs here of parties that would prefer to be absent from the debate” because they know they can’t tell their voters “they do not rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Elkin said.

The Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al parties put forward proposals to recognize Palestinian statehood that were rejected in two 62-9 votes.

Ra’am Party head MK Mansor Abbas said that a Palestinian state must first be established and only then can Israel make peace with it.

“Peace agreements with countries succeed. It is impossible to make partial agreements with the PLO or strive for a settlement with Hamas in Gaza,” he said.

Wednesday’s declaration stated that "The Israeli Knesset firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan [River]. The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel will pose an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and destabilize the region.

“It will only be a short matter of time before Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terrorist base, working in coordination with the Iranian-led axis, to eliminate the State of Israel,” the declaration stated.

“Promoting the idea of ​​a Palestinian state at this time will be a reward for terrorism and will only encourage Hamas and its supporters to see this as a victory thanks to the massacre of October 7, 2023, and as a prelude to the takeover of jihadist Islam in the Middle East.”

France condemned the vote. “Only the two-state solution can bring a just and lasting peace to both Israelis and Palestinians and guarantee stability in the region,” its Foreign Ministry said. 

“France calls for ending the challenges to this imperative, which is recognized as such by the vast majority of the international community.

“We express our dismay at the Knesset’s adoption of a resolution yesterday that rejects the prospect of establishing a Palestinian state, contradicting the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council,” it stated.

US Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel had a more mute response.

“The United States is committed to advancing enduring peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and we believe that the practical way for that is a two-state solution,” Patel said.  

"I think it can be safely implied that a piece of legislation that is in opposition to the two-state solution is not something that we would be thrilled about,” he said.

Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this report.