For the first time in the history of the State of Israel, Israeli lawmakers in the Knesset on Wednesday passed a resolution opposing the so-called “two state solution.”
The resolution was overwhelmingly approved in a vote of 68 to 9, with nine factions, including that opposition member Benny Gantz and his National Union faction, voting together to approve the resolution.
68 Members of Knesset from 9 fractions, representing more than 80 Knesset Membera voted AGAINST a Palestinian state.
I thank my co-chairs of the Land of Israel Caucus, MK Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein and Limor Son Har Melech.
“The Israeli Knesset opposes the establishment of a… pic.twitter.com/EP9X9OgyrF
— שמחה רוטמן – Simcha Rothman (@rothmar) July 17, 2024
The vote came just a few days prior to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States to address a joint session of the Congress, his fourth such event, next Thursday (July 25).
Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden on Monday, July 22, but that encounter may be called off in light of an announcement late Wednesday that Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier in the day.
The issue of establishing another bona fide terrorist state on Israel’s border has been simmering for years. However, what once was distasteful and unlikely was abruptly brought to a boil earlier this year when the Biden Administration joined together with its Arab allies in the region to “complete a detailed, comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state that could be announced as early as the next several weeks,” as reported in February by The Washington Post.
Every Israeli lawmaker – with the exception of those in the Arab parties — slammed the move.
Read: Israelis Overwhelmingly Reject US, Arab Plan for Palestinian State
“I thank my co-chairs of the Land of Israel Caucus, MK Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein and Limor Son Har-Melech,” MK Simcha Rothman wrote in a statement posted in the wee hours of Thursday morning on the X social media platform.
“The Israeli Knesset opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state on any piece of land west of the Jordan River.
“The existence of a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel will pose an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, will further extend the Israel-Palestinian Arab conflict and be a source of destabilization for the entire region.
“It will be only a matter of time before Hamas takes over such a Palestinian state turning it into a base for radical Islamic terrorism in full alignment with the Iranian regime that aims to eradicate the State of Israel.
“Supporting Palestinian statehood would reward terrorism and serve to encourage Hamas and its supporters. Israel’s enemies will interpret it as the victorious outcome of the massacre perpetrated on October 7th and a precursor to the conquest of jihadist Islamism of the entire Middle East,” the statement added.
Resolutions are not legally binding, but this one makes clear that every Israeli lawmaker — coalition members and opposition alike — will fight any move to advance a move that would almost certainly create another permanent existential threat to Israel.
