Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear he won’t accept a Palestinian state a stance that adds more fireworks to the diplomatic fight over a UN vote on a US-backed Gaza plan.
The draft resolution circulating at the United Nations would back parts of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, which includes language about a possible future Palestinian state if certain conditions are met. That line has angered hard-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition, who see any hint of Palestinian statehood as a red line.
Speaking to his cabinet, Netanyahu was blunt: “Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan… is existing, valid, and has not changed one bit.” Other ministers echoed that refusal. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned there would be no “Palestinian terror state in the heart of the land of Israel,” and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Gaza must be “demilitarised down to the last tunnel” and that Hamas must be disarmed.
Hardline ministers outside the cabinet’s public comments turned up the pressure. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultranationalist security minister, demanded Netanyahu publicly reject a Palestinian state and even threatened to quit the fragile coalition if he didn’t. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the prime minister of diplomatic weakness, saying Netanyahu had been too quiet as more countries started recognising Palestinian statehood.
The US-led UN text would “welcome” a temporary governing body for Gaza and set up a short-term international stabilisation force to keep order while the enclave recovers. Supporters of the resolution the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey urged the Security Council to approve it quickly, arguing it offers a path to peace and regional stability.
But Netanyahu’s public rejection matters. Saudi Arabia has been clear it won’t normalise relations with Israel unless there is a credible path to Palestinian statehood. If Israel firmly refuses that idea, it could undercut Riyadh’s willingness to join any wider diplomatic opening between Arab states and Israel.
The Gaza plan itself is meant to roll out in phases. The first phase has already seen a ceasefire and some hostage releases. The second phase would require Hamas to disarm and call for an international force to secure the area and help demilitarise the enclave.
Tensions spilled beyond the UN debate. In southern Lebanon, Israeli troops fired at two people the army thought were suspects near the border but they later learned the shots had been aimed at UN peacekeepers on foot. The UN force, Unifil, said heavy machine-gun fire landed just five metres from the peacekeepers, who had to take cover. Israel said bad weather led to the mistaken identity; Unifil described the incident as a “serious violation” of an existing UN resolution meant to keep southern Lebanon free of armed forces other than the Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers.
So the picture is messy: a US-backed plan that hints at a future Palestinian state, an Israeli government firmly against that idea, pressure from Gulf states tied to normalization hopes, and dangerous flashes on the ground that show how fragile the situation remains. The coming UN vote will be watched closely not just for what it says on paper, but for how it reshapes the politics around peace, recognition and security in the region.
