Israeli officials disclosed to Axios that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week that any direct or indirect recognition of a Palestinian state by the United States would effectively reward those responsible for orchestrating the October 7 massacre.
In a private meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu conveyed his alarm at the prospect of such a US move, according to Israeli officials.
Netanyahu stressed to Blinken that American recognition could harm efforts by the Biden administration to broaden peace in the region.
Such recognition would mark a significant shift in decades of US policy, which has advocated for a Palestinian state only as a result of direct negotiations with Israel. The Israeli government is increasingly concerned that this could pressure Israel into accepting a Palestinian state.
Extreme nationalist ministers in Netanyahu’s government are looking to preempt any potential US action by pushing for a cabinet resolution that formally states Israel’s opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, a step Netanyahu has so far avoided.
Some in the Biden administration now believe recognizing a Palestinian state might be the initial step in negotiations to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, rather than the final one, as stated by a senior US official to Axios. Blinken recently instructed the State Department to review and present policy options regarding potential US and international recognition of a Palestinian state post-Gaza war.
The State Department confirmed there has been no policy change and described the review as part of an ongoing process to consider various policy options. The US could take several actions regarding this issue, including bilateral recognition of Palestine, not using its veto power to block UN Security Council recognition of Palestine as a full UN member state, or encouraging other countries to recognize Palestine.
This matter was also addressed in a meeting between Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, and Palestinian Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, one of President Mahmoud Abbas’s closest confidants. A senior Israeli official told Axios that Hanegbi made it clear to al-Sheikh that “there is no chance for this war to end with a two-state solution.”
The Israeli official also affirmed that Israel would not now change its longstanding policy and award a “prize for the perpetrators of the October 7 events.” Hanegbi told al-Sheikh, “It’s not just about the Likud government. There was no Palestinian state when we had other governments in Israel, so you need to be realistic and propose more practical goals for the day after the war.”
