JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Citing a source familiar with the details, The Yisrael Hayom newspaper site reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing a “de facto” agreement with the US to recognize a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization with Saudi Arabia.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
According to the report, the US would unilaterally recognize a state, and Israel would object that a permanent agreement will only come about through direct negotiations, thus creating an opening for talks leading to a Palestinian state.
The source points to Netanyahu’s delayed reaction to a Washington Post report that the US is weighing its recognition of a Palestinian state as evidence that the prime minister is resigned to working with the US on its emerging grand vision for the region.
The Prime Minister’s office denied the Yisrael Hayom report, calling it “fake news.”
In a press conference Saturday night, Netanyahu denied even considering the acceptance of a Palestinian state, calling it a “prize for terror.”
The prime minister took a belligerent stance on international calls for progress towards a Palestinian state. Netanyahu stressed that Israel “will not capitulate to international dictates” regarding a future agreement with the Palestinians.
“An agreement will be achieved only in direct talks between the two sides, without preconditions,” he said, stressing that he will continue “to firmly oppose unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood.” [It is noteworthy that the prime minister did not oppose any future Palestinian state, but rather one which is unilaterally recognized. In the past, Netanyahu has expressed support for some form of Palestinian statehood.]
Netanyahu said that there would be “no greater prize for terror” after the October 7 killings than giving the Palestinians a state, and that such a move would “prevent any future peace agreement.”