Jerusalem, November 18: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to oppose any move toward establishing a Palestinian state, a day before the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a U.S.-drafted Gaza resolution that leaves open the possibility of Palestinian independence.
Netanyahu, under mounting international pressure to soften his stance as Washington pushes forward with its Gaza ceasefire proposal, told his Cabinet that Israel’s opposition to a Palestinian state “has not changed one bit” and would not be swayed by “affirmations, tweets or lectures.”
The Security Council vote on Monday will consider a U.S. plan to create an international stabilisation force in Gaza, a proposal that faces resistance from Russia, China and several Arab countries. The latest U.S. draft includes stronger references to Palestinian self-determination, saying President Donald Trump’s plan may offer a “credible pathway” to statehood. A rival Russian proposal contains even more explicit support for Palestinian statehood.
Palestinian factions, including Hamas, rejected the U.S.-backed proposal on Sunday, calling it an attempt to impose an international mandate on Gaza that they say favours Israel and undermines Palestinians’ right to govern themselves. The groups warned against any effort to force Gaza’s demilitarisation or Hamas’s disarmament.
Netanyahu said the proposal’s demand to demilitarise Gaza would be carried out “the easy way or the hard way.” His far-right coalition partners have urged him to take a firm line, warning against any concessions linked to Palestinian independence.
The debate comes amid rising violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian health officials said a 19-year-old man was killed by Israeli fire on Sunday, becoming the seventh Palestinian killed in two weeks. The Israeli military said the man had thrown an explosive device at soldiers in Nablus before they opened fire. In a separate incident, the army said troops killed an individual in the Far’a area who “attempted to harm them.”
Six Palestinian teenagers aged 15 to 17 were also shot dead in four separate incidents over the past two weeks. Rights groups accuse Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to a surge in attacks by Jewish settlers, who they say act with impunity under the current government. Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed the violence as the work of a “small minority.”
The U.N. Human Rights Office recorded more than 260 settler attacks on Palestinians and their property in October — the highest monthly figure since 2006. In Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces killed a person who crossed into territory under their control in the northern part of the enclave and posed an immediate threat.
Meanwhile, winter rains have deepened the humanitarian crisis in southern Gaza’s Muwasi tent camp, where displaced families navigated flooded pathways and leaking shelters after days of downpour. “Our bathroom is made of fabric … the rain pours down on us. It’s indescribable suffering,” said Abdallah Abu Quta, one of the displaced residents.
