Several notable Israeli Knesset members expressed backlash and criticism over the revised US draft of a UN Security Council resolution on the future of Gaza, obtained by i24NEWS on Thursday.
The draft currently includes that after the advancement of Palestinian Authority reforms and Gaza reconstruction, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
“After the PA reform program is faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” the document reads.
“The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” it continues.
PA state recognitions & Israel condemnation at UNGA
Washington seeks to legalize the establishment of an international force in Gaza through the Security Council, a resolution that would provide the US and partner countries a broad mandate to govern and secure the Strip through the end of 2027 with allowance for extensions. But key language of its proposal remains under debate.
The draft seen by i24NEWS on Thursday is the second revision. The US has never clearly defined what reforms it demands of the Palestinian Authority, and the text of the latest draft refers to a reform program “as outlined in various proposals.”
Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Gideon Saar commented on the revisions that “Israel will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel, at a negligible distance from all its population centers and with topographical control over them.”
National Security Minister Ben Gvir also expressed his opposition to the language of the second draft proposal, saying, “The collection of immigrants from Arab countries to the Land of Israel is not a people. And certainly they do not deserve a prize for the terror, the murder, and the atrocities they have sown everywhere, and especially from Gaza — the place where they received self-rule.”
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He added that “the only true solution in Gaza is encouraging voluntary emigration, and certainly not a prize state for terror, which would serve as a base for continued terror,” calling on the Prime Minister to “clarify that Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in any form.”
He also stated that his political party, Otzma Yehudit, “will not be part of any government that agrees to this.”
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also reacted, criticizing Netanyahu and accusing him of remaining silent since the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state by several countries at the UN meetings in September and blaming the current situation on his lack of action.
“Two months have since passed in which you have chosen silence and diplomatic disgrace. The deterioration we are now witnessing in this matter is dangerous, and it is your responsibility due to your silence,” Smotrich wrote.
“Formulate immediately an appropriate and decisive response that will make it clear to the entire world — no Palestinian state will ever arise on the lands of our homeland,” the minister added.