Israeli Ministers Reject Palestinian Statehood in Post-War Plan

Senior ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state on Thursday, following a report by the Washington Post stating that "the United States, Israel's main ally, is advancing plans for the establishment of a Palestinian state." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich remarked that "we will not agree under any circumstances to this plan which suggests that Palestinians deserve a reward for the horrific massacre they committed against us: a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem." He added that "the establishment of a Palestinian state represents an existential threat to the State of Israel, as demonstrated on October 7," and stated that he would urge the security cabinet, scheduled to meet later on Thursday, to take a clear stance against a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that "any political initiative that does not begin with the existence of a Palestinian state as a full member of the United Nations is doomed to fail."