IRIA News

Israeli Prime Miniter Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the U.S.’s appeals to reduce Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip and to initiate measures towards creating a Palestinian state post-war. Netanyahu proclaimed his disapproval of the U.S.’s appeal through a statement at a nationally broadcast news conference.

After a long-standing undeterred support of Israel’s unprecedented brutality in the Gaza Strip, Washington finds itself at odds with Tel Aviv about the post-war Palestinian state issue.

The U.S. has been urging Israel’s right-wing administration to start de-escalating its attacks and has increased pressure regarding the future of the Gaza Strip. The friction between the two administrations revealed growing frustration within the Biden administration regarding differences with Netanyahu on the issue.

During a nationally broadcasted news conference, Netanyahu adopted a detrimental stance, emphasizing that Israel would persist in its military campaign until it achieves the objectives of dismantling Gaza’s Hamas militant group and securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Despite growing criticism within Israel questioning the feasibility of these goals, Netanyahu dismissed such concerns, asserting a commitment to pursue the offensive for many months to come. He unequivocally declared, “We will accept nothing less than an unequivocal victory.”

US reaffirms support for two-state solution

The United States promptly responded saying that it will not stop working toward a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Nothing has changed about President Biden’s desire that a two-state solution is really in the best interest of not only the Israeli people but of course, the Palestinian people,” U.S. National Security Council’s spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

“There will a post-conflict Gaza, no reoccupation of Gaza,” Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One.

U.S. continues to advocate for the return of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority currently administers semi-autonomous regions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The goal is for the authority to regain a presence in Gaza, from which it was ousted by Hamas in 2007 when the latter assumed control of the region.

Additionally, the U.S. has called for measures to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Palestinian aspiration encompasses Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem as the territories for their future state, all of which were captured by Israel in 1967.

During an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “We have today a profound regional opportunity in the Middle East that we did not have in the past,” indicating towards the finding a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestine issue. When asked if Netanyahu is the right prime minister to seize this opportunity, Blinken responded that “these are decisions that Israelis need to make” and added, “We are at a turning point.”

Senior U.S. officials have unveiled that the Biden administration is looking beyond Netanyahu to try and achieve U.S. goals in the region. During his visit to the Middle East this month, Blinken told the Israeli leader that there was no military solution to Hamas at the end of the day and that Netanyahu needed to acknowledge this or history would repeat itself, and violence would persist, but Netanyahu refused to relent.

Mounting frustration between Biden and Netanyahu

Differences between the Biden administration and Netanyahu regarding Israel’s approach to the conflict with Hamas, coupled with the Israeli leader’s rejection of U.S. suggestions for the two-state solution in a post-war Gaza, have intensified.

Several senior officials state that Blinken returned to Washington, noting Netanyahu’s refusal on nearly all the administration’s requests, except for an agreement that Israel would refrain from attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Now Netanyahu is the only stakeholder in the conflict who has rejected the U.S.’s suggestions for a two-state solution for Palestine. The Arab leaders also agreed to support a new, reformed Palestinian government to secure Gaza.

The Saudi crown prince offered to normalize relations with Israel as part of a Gaza reconstruction agreement a diplomatic development Netanyahu has long sought but only if the Israeli leader agrees to provide Palestinians with a pathway to statehood.

Saudi-Israel normalization in exchange for a two-state solution

During his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister in Tel Aviv on January 11, 2024, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli leaders on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia wants to normalize relations with Israel after the Gaza war ends, but it would not agree to any deal if the Israeli government doesn’t commit to the principle of a two-state solution.

“With regard to integration, to normalization, yes, we talked about that actually on every stop, including of course here in Saudi Arabia,” Blinken told reporters in Saudi Arabia earlier this month before heading to Israel.  “And I can tell you this: There’s a clear interest here in pursuing that,” he said. “This interest is there, it’s real, and it could be transformative.”

However, the “Arab countries are saying … we’re not going to get into the business, for example, of rebuilding Gaza, only to have it leveled again in a year or five years, and then be asked to rebuild it again,” he told CNBC in an interview.

Netanyahu’s recent statements have unveiled that his right-wing administration is currently not on course to make any negotiations to end its attacks in Gaza.

Israeli opposition files no-confidence motion against Netanyahu

Apart from entering a rocky patch in its relationship with Washington, the Israeli administration is also facing severe backlash from the local political parties. Israel’s Labor Party announced on Wednesday that it is going to submit a proposal to the parliament for a vote of no confidence against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government due to its inability to return hostages from the Gaza Strip.

“Our daughters and sons have been held captive by Hamas for 103 days,” it said on Twitter. “103 days that the State of Israel is torn between Israel and Gaza. And the government doesn’t care at all.”

The Labor Party has 4 out of 120 seats in the parliament and is headed by Merav Michaeli, a former Minister of Transportation.  The Yesh Atid party, which has 24 seats in the Knesset and is headed by opposition leader Yair Lapid, announced that it had submitted a motion of no confidence in the government in objection to the budget approved by the government on Thursday. “This government cannot continue to exist. It is a failure that costs people’s lives and the future of the country.”

100 days of war in Gaza

Israel’s relentless attacks in Gaza are now going on for more than 100 days. The death toll among Palestinians residing in Gaza has surged to nearly 24,000, a consequence of Israel’s deployment of over 65,000 tons of bombs on the besieged enclave.

This densely populated area, encompassing 2.3 million people within less than 400 square kilometers, has been the epicenter of a relentless assault initiated by Israel on October 7. The offensive was triggered by an attack from armed fighters associated with the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and other Palestinian groups.

The initial attack claimed the lives of approximately 1,140 individuals, with around 240 taken captive in Gaza. In response, Israel launched an aggressive bombing campaign and intensified the already oppressive siege that Gaza has endured since 2007.