‘Rewarding terrorism will not bring peace’ says Netanyahu after 3 countries recognize ‘Palestine’

President Herzog: Declarations ‘won’t help any Palestinian or any Israeli’

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog strongly condemned the recognition of a Palestinian state by Norway, Ireland and Spain on Wednesday, noting that the move would be counterproductive.

In his video message, Netanyahu echoed earlier statements by Israeli officials, saying such recognition would be “a reward for terrorism.”

“80% of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria support the terrible massacre of October 7. This evil cannot be given a state,” the prime minister said.

“This would be a terrorist state. It will try to repeat the massacre of October 7 again and again; we will not consent to this. Rewarding terrorism will not bring peace and neither will it stop us from defeating Hamas,” he added.

Following the announcement by the leaders of Norway, Ireland and Spain, stating they would recognize a Palestinian state beginning next Tuesday, May 28, Israel summoned its ambassadors from those countries in protest over what Foreign Minister Israel Katz deemed “a reward to Hamas.”

The foreign minister later announced he would summon the ambassadors of the countries for a severe reprimand that would include a screening of recently released footage showing the kidnapping of five female IDF soldiers on Oct. 7.

Herzog went into further detail explaining Israel’s objection to a Palestinian state in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan on Wednesday evening.

“These are futile steps that won't help any progress in the region and are adverse to the basic challenges, meaning an adverse to the ability to release the hostages, they can be deemed as an award actually to Hamas and I’ve expressed these opinions to the leaders of these respective states.”

“Because what one says is, because of a war that was brutally waged by Hamas, by raping, burning, chopping, abducting Israelis, all of a sudden the world rushes – a few nations in the world are rushing to declare a Palestinian state – when there are no boundaries, no nothing that you can make a Palestinian state.”

Herzog stressed that bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were needed and the countries’ recognition was moving the trajectory away from peace.

“Following October 7, in Israel, the deep feeling is that the neighbors that everybody promised us will be peaceful neighbors have attacked us in a brutal way and killed and butchered and raped and abducted first and foremost the biggest supporters of peace in Israel.”

“So there is also a national feeling that there is no trust – and in order to move to any possible future there must be first and foremost trust. These are the issues we must deal with the first before throwing declarations written in foreign offices here or there for which served perhaps internal political pressures in some countries, but in the end, it won't help any Palestinian or any Israeli for that matter,” Herzog said.