In a video shared on social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his ongoing opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, considering it a significant threat to Israel’s existence.
“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan,” Netanyahu affirmed on Sunday.
This statement is likely to escalate tensions with the US government. Indeed, President Joe Biden has consistently advocated for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu additionally insisted on the demilitarization of Gaza, emphasizing the necessity for it to be under total Israeli security control. Asserting that Israel will achieve a “total victory” in the war, he stated that post-conflict, “there will be no entity in Gaza that finances terrorism, educates for terrorism or sends our terror.”
He took pride in consistently preventing the creation of a Palestinian state, ” in the face of heavy international and domestic pressures.” “As long as I am Prime minister, I will continue to firmly stand by this,” he reiterated.
Furthermore, he dismissed Hamas’s calls for “surrender,” emphasizing, “we brought home so far 110 hostages, and we are committed to bringing them all back”.
Hamas had suggested resolving the conflict by releasing the hostages.
Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected the proposal, stating, “if we agree to this, our soldiers fell in vain. If we agree to this, we cannot guarantee security for our citizens. We cannot bring the evacuees home safely, and the next October 7 will be just a matter of time. I am not able to agree to such a fatal blow to Israeli security, and therefore I cannot agree to that.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the military’s ground offensive would expand to Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip.
After an aerial reconnaissance with the Israeli Air Force, Gallant affirmed, “the plumes of smoke from the tanks, artillery and Air Force planes, will continue to cover the skies of the Gaza Strip, until we achieve our goals, chief among them, the defeat of Hamas and the return of hostages to their homes.”
