Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a pathway for Palestinian statehood as proposed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying Israel must have complete control “from the river to the sea.” This territory stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip–two regions that Israel does not yet possess.
Netanyahu’s public rejection, transcribed below, comes just a day after Blinken told reporters at the World Economic Forum that Israel will never have “genuine security” until an autonomous Palestinian state is created. This sentiment was backed up by White House National Security spokesman John Kirby and an official press release from the White House, which said it was the “right time” for Israel to subdue its assault on Gaza.
“For thirty years, I am very consistent and I am saying something very simple: this conflict is not on the lack of a state for Palestinians, but the existence of a state, the Jewish state. Every area that we evacuate we received terrible terror: what happened in south Lebanon, in Gaza, and also in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. And therefore I clarify that in any other arrangement, in the future the state of Israel has to control the entire area, from the river to the sea. This is what happens when you have sovereignty, this truth I say to our American friends and I also stop the attempt to impose on us a reality that will jeopardize us. A Prime Minister of Israel has to be able to say no, even to the best of friends. To say no when you need to and say yes when you can.”
🇮🇱 Netanyahu: "In the future, the state of Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea."
Bibi has made his aims clear.
Will Western governments continue to support this genocidal maniac? pic.twitter.com/VE3AKDk93L
— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) January 18, 2024
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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) criticized Netanyahu’s comments, calling them unhelpful in regard to the ongoing negotiations with Democratic members of Congress on an aid package for Israel. “When Netanyahu says things like that, it does not help win votes,” he said to the press. “We’re going to need to get a lot of Democratic votes to pass this.”
The spending bill will include billions of dollars worth of national security provisions.
Netanyahu’s remarks seem to be a follow-up from conversations behind closed doors. As part of his most recent diplomatic tour of the Levant, Blinken reportedly proposed a deal in which Saudi Arabia would unfreeze its relations with Israel in exchange for a pathway to statehood for Palestine, which Netanyahu rejected. He allegedly said he is not prepared to make such a deal at the present moment—but the Biden administration is not satisfied, and will actively pursue a Palestinian state through other actors in the Israeli government and political establishment. After all, Netanyahu “will not be there forever,” as several US senior officials told NBC News.
Blinken reportedly told Netanyahu there is no military solution to the problem of Hamas and that Israel must accept that or be condemned to an endless cycle of violence. Netanyahu did not budge, according to the officials.
However, NBC News reports that Blinken had successfully convinced Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to help rebuild Gaza after the war, according to several senior administration officials. MBS and four other Arab leaders also agreed to support a hypothetical new and reformed government for Palestine. MBS explicitly refuses to restore full relations with the state of Israel unless it accepts their plan for a Palestinian state.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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