Netanyahu rejects world demands for permanent settlement with Palestinians

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected on Friday the international demands for a permanent settlement with Palestinians, opposing unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state.

"Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians," Netanyahu wrote on X.

"Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions," he added.

"Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli premier also noted: "Such recognition in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement."

According to a Washington Post report, the US and a number of Arab countries are finalizing a long-term peace plan between Israel and Palestinians.

The plan includes "a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, that could be announced as early as the next several weeks," it said.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming all of Jerusalem as its “eternal and undivided” capital in a move never recognized by the international community.

The Palestinians, for their part, hope to establish an independent state of their own in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed over 28,600 Palestinians and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio