عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Netanyahu’s Allies Reject Any Talk on Establishment of Palestinian State

A photo from southern Israel of destroyed buildings in Gaza (AFP)
A photo from southern Israel of destroyed buildings in Gaza (AFP)
TT
TT

Netanyahu’s Allies Reject Any Talk on Establishment of Palestinian State

A photo from southern Israel of destroyed buildings in Gaza (AFP)
A photo from southern Israel of destroyed buildings in Gaza (AFP)

Israeli government officials and spokespersons have called on Israeli public opinion and the Tel Aviv government to adopt a categorical rejection of “any talk about establishing a Palestinian state,” considering that the creation of such a state would be a “prize for extremists.”

These calls came amid mounting international and Arab pressure on Israel to accept a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of the two-state solution, and achieve progress in the truce talks and prisoner exchange.

Hamas, for its part, insists on a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza before reaching an agreement.

Far-right extremist ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security, and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance, issued sharp statements on Thursday.

Ben Gvir said on X: “1,400 Israelis have been killed, and the world wants to give them a state... This will not happen.”

“In no way will we agree to this plan that says the Palestinians deserve a reward for the massacre they committed against us,” Smotrich said on the same platform.

He added that he would ask the war cabinet to vote against this idea, “by issuing a clear decision stating that Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

“I expect clear support from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot and all ministers,” Smotrich emphasized.

In the same context, Avi Hyman, Netanyahu’s spokesman, also announced that the government rejects any discussion of the issue of a Palestinian state.

He said: “This is not the time when we are discussing giving gifts to the Palestinian people.”

Education Minister Yoav Kisch, from the Likud Party, stated: “Any talk about granting this award...does not concern us and we are not partners in it.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Yemen's Capital and Port City after Houthi Attack Targets Israel

A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 13 December 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 13 December 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
TT
TT

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Yemen's Capital and Port City after Houthi Attack Targets Israel

A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 13 December 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 13 December 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

A series of intense Israeli airstrikes shook Yemen's Houthi-held capital and a port city early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel.
Thursday’s strikes risk further escalating conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have drastically impacted global shipping. The militants have so far avoided the same level of intense military strikes that have targeted the Palestinian Hamas militant group and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fellow members of Tehran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance.”
The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah said that some of the strikes targeted power stations in the capital, as well as the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea. The channel, citing its correspondent in the port city of Hodeidah, said at least seven people had been killed at the nearby port of Salif, while another two had been killed at the Ras Isa oil terminal.
Others suffered wounds at the Hodeidah port as well, it said.
An Israeli military statement offered no specifics on the targets hit, nor any damage assessment.
“The targets struck by the (Israeli military) were used by the Houthi forces for military purposes,” the statement said. “The strikes degrade the Houthi terrorist regime, preventing it from exploiting the targets for military and terrorist purposes, including the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the region.”
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said the strikes hit energy and port infrastructure, which he alleged the militants “have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military action.”
“Israel will not hesitate to act in order to defend itself and its citizens from the Houthi attacks,” Hagari said.
Houthi-held Hodeidah, some 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Sanaa, has been key for food shipments into Yemen as its decades long war has gone on. There's also longstanding suspicion that weapons from Iran have been transferred through the port.
The strikes happened just after the Israeli military said its air force intercepted a missile launched from Yemen before it entered the country’s territory.
“Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling debris from the interception,” the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded near Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas, and a large explosion was heard overhead at the time. The Houthis did not immediately claim the missile attack, but said an important military statement would be issued in the coming hours, following a pattern of how they claim their assaults.
Israel previously struck Hodeidah and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv. In September, Israel struck Hodeidah again, killing at least four people after a militant missile targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving back to the country.
American forces have also launched a series of strikes on the Houthis over nearly a year due to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor. On Monday, the US military's Central Command said it hit “a key command-and-control facility" operated by the Houthis in Sanaa, later identified as the al-Ardi complex once home to the government's Defense Ministry.
But Israel appears to have carried out Thursday's strikes alone. A US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the attacks, said America had no part in them.
The Houthis have targeted some 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas' surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel's grinding offensive in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say.
The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The Houthis maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.