Netanyahu says aggressive Hamas-run state in Gaza proves two-state solution not viable

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the presence of Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip proves that a two-state solution is not viable as long as the Jewish state faces existential threats.

The premier stated he was proud that he had previously blocked the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.

“I’m proud that I prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state because today everybody understands what that Palestine state could have been, now that we’ve seen the little Palestinian state in Gaza."

"Everyone understands what would have happened if we had capitulated to international pressures and enabled a state like that in Judea and Samaria, surrounding Jerusalem and on the outskirts of Tel Aviv,” the prime minister said.

Netanyahu, who became prime minister for the first time in 1996, launched his political career as a vocal critic of the controversial Oslo Accords, which was signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1993. Like many other critics, Netanyahu argued that the PA could not be trusted, as it spoke about peace to the international audience in English, while simultaneously inciting terrorism against Israel and Jews in Arabic.

The U.S. Biden administration previously indicated that it envisions the PA to eventually assume responsibility for the Gaza Strip in a post-Hamas era.

However, Netanyahu, who spoke alongside Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, emphasized his opposition to transferring leadership to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the PA, adding that “among friends, it’s important not to foster illusions.” The Israeli premier was referring to recent U.S. statements that a “revamped” PA could eventually assume responsibility for the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu recently vowed that after the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the coastal enclave would be neither controlled by Hamas nor Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas.

“Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan,” the prime minister stated.

“After the great sacrifice of our civilians and our soldiers, I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism,“ Netanyahu added, referring to the consistent political incitement and terrorism against the Jewish state.

Reflecting on the political agreement between Israel and the PA during the 1990s, Netanyahu defined the Oslo Accords as “a fateful mistake.” The prime minister, who vocally opposed Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, said that the move led to a “little Palestinian state in Gaza” that threatened Israeli security and eventually led to the Hamas massacre of over 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7.

Oded Forer, an Israeli lawmaker from the conservative opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, criticized Netanyahu for speaking tough but acting soft by implementing the interim agreements of the political Oslo process in the 1990s.

Forer also blasted Netanyahu for greenlighting the Gilad Shalit hostage deal in Oct. 2011, when Israel offered to release more than 1,000 imprisoned Palestinians in exchange for the captured IDF soldier, Shalit.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 surprise attack, was one of the released prisoners during the Shalit deal.

The opposition lawmaker also criticized Netanyahu’s previous policy which permitted an inflow of Qatari funds to Hamas in exchange for temporary quiet on the border between Gaza and Israel.