Israel's Prime Minister Office rejected the U.S. effort to establish a Palestinian State. "Now is not the time to be speaking about gifts for the Palestinian people," said Avi Hyman, the Prime Minister's Office spokesman, in a briefing for foreign reporters. Israel is still in the "aftermath of the October 7 massacre perpetrated against us by a genocidal Palestinian terrorist organization," he also said.
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"Now is the time for victory, total victory against Hamas, and we will continue on the path to victory," he added, while reiterating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's message that "all discussions about the day after Hamas will be had the day after."
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Biden, Abbas and Netanyahu
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, GHANAIM / PPO / AFP, AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Earlier, the Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry welcomed efforts to reach a political initiative that will lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and criticized Israeli ministers who rejected the idea. The ministry even demanded that sanctions be imposed on the ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who "pose a threat to peace, security and stability in the region."
"The ministry welcomes all the regional and international efforts that have been made to formulate a political initiative based on the strategic needs to establish a Palestinian state, and to pave the way for an immediate ceasefire that will protect Palestinian citizens and release hostages in exchange for prisoners," it said.
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Palestinian Authority calls for sanctions against Israeli government ministers who oppose a Palestinian State
(Photos: AFP, Reuters)
The Palestinians added that "any political initiative to stop the war and resolve the conflict, which does not begin with the full membership of a Palestinian state in the United Nations and its recognition by the Western countries and the United States, is doomed to failure like its predecessors."
The United States and a few Middle Eastern countries are trying to quickly complete a comprehensive peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians, including a general timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, a cease-fire and the release of hostages. The Washington Post reported that the plan may be announced within a few weeks.
American and Arab officials said that an initial cease-fire, lasting about six weeks, would give time to publish the plan, to gather support and to take first steps to implement the plan, including the establishment of a temporary Palestinian government. The plan's architects hope that a hostage deal will be reached even before the beginning of Ramadan, which is in a little less than a month.
Meanwhile, ministers such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich oppose the plan and even said that "we will in no way agree to this plan, which in fact says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they committed against us: a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote: "The intention of the United States, together with other Arab countries, to establish a terror state alongside the State of Israel is delusional and a part of the wrong conception that the other side is a partner for peace."
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Minister Gedeon Sa'ar opposes any plan to establish Palestinian State
(Photo: Yariv Katz)
Minister of Education Yoav Kisch commented on the plan on Thursday, and said that "we are only concerned with victory in Gaza, destroying Hamas' capabilities and returning the hostages. Any talk of a reward of one kind or another for those murderers, we are not involved in it at all." Minister Gideon Sa'ar also expressed his dismay: "I warned against the dangerous plan that is taking shape for the unilateral international recognition of a Palestinian state. This plan will not only not resolve the conflict but will make it insolvable."