Jerusalem (EFE).- The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday that granting an independent state to the Palestinians «is to invite a future war and a certain war (…) something that today, the Israeli public forcefully opposes.»
«The Palestinians are not about creating a state. They’re about destroying a state. That’s why they opposed the Jewish National Movement to create a state. It’s called Zionism,» Netanyahu said, conflating Palestinians who pursue an armed struggle with those who recognize the state of Israel.
He made this statement at a press conference with foreign media in Jerusalem, where he announced his government’s decision to extend its military operation to the entire Gaza Strip.
«If they want to live here next to us, they have to stop seeking our destruction, and to give them an independent state with all the trimmings is to invite a future war and a certain war,» he said.
He reiterated that Palestinians must recognize that Israel «is here to stay, not as a fact, as a physical or geographic fact, but as a fact of historical equity,» once again conflating those who recognize the state of Israel’s existence with those who do not.
In 1988, the then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat recognized the state of Israel, a move formalized in the Oslo Accords. Since then, the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, has recognized the neighbouring state.
However, the militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, does not recognize Israel as a state, although recent statements have created uncertainty about this position.
One of the principles approved by Israel on Friday to end the offensive in Gaza was to establish an administration there that was neither affiliated with the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas. On Sunday, Netanyahu said that there are «several candidates» for this administration, but did not specify what he was referring to.
«We are talking about several candidates and structures. It is a transitional period. It is a transitional authority,» he said, adding that Israel does not intend to remain in Gaza. «That is not our purpose, at least not mine,» he added. EFE
mt-vsj/dgp
