Netanyahu: "As long as I am Prime Minister – a Palestinian state will not be established"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded this evening (Saturday) sharply to the call by Ra'am chairman, Knesset member Mansour Abbas, for Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu made it clear unequivocally that as long as he heads the government, such a move will not be carried out under any scenario. In his remarks, the Prime Minister declared:

"As long as I am Prime Minister, a Palestinian state controlled by Iran will not be established: not in Gaza and not in Judea and Samaria. Period."

In his remarks, the Prime Minister linked Abbas's statements to the possibility of establishing a government led by the chairman of the Yashar party, Gadi Eisenkot, which would rely on the support of Arab parties. Netanyahu claimed that "the price of a left-wing coalition with the Muslim Brotherhood has been exposed again," and added a sharp attack against the opposition leaders: "These are the partners of Eisenkot, Lieberman, and Tropper, who boycott Likud voters but welcome the supporters of Tibi and Balad."

In Likud, they seek to focus the election campaign on the question of the political partners who will allow the Eisenkot bloc to form a government. The sharp response comes following Abbas's words during the national conference of Ra'am in Tayibe, where he declared that his party would work for Israel and the United States to recognize a Palestinian state. Abbas claimed that "the state of Palestine exists and stands, and most of the world recognizes it," and added that his party is working to end the occupation and the conflict.

On the other hand, Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot responded to the remarks and tried to commit that in the government he would form, a Palestinian state would not be established, but refrained from announcing a disqualification of sitting in a coalition or relying on the Ra'am party.