Israel ‘will absolutely not accept’ a two-state solution with Palestine

Israel will ‘absolutely not’ accept a two-state solution with Palestine after its invasion of Gaza is over, the ambassador to Britain has warned.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep up with the violence until he annihilates Hamas, even as he continues to face calls for a ceasefire.

Against the backdrop of the military occupation, Western leaders – including Rishi Sunak – are returning to the stalled diplomatic effort from decades ago to shape postwar policies: the two-state solution.

But Tzipi Hotovely explicitly rejected the idea of a Palestinian state, doubling down on messaging from Netanyahu.

When pressed on the question, the Israeli ambassador told Sky News: ‘Absolutely no.’

Then asked how there can be peace without a Palestinian state, she added: ‘Israel knows today, and the world should know now that the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel.

‘They want to have a state from the river to the sea. They are saying it loud and clear.

‘It’s now two months after the war started. The Palestinian Authority (PA) did not condemn this massacre (October 7). It is such a big problem.’

The ‘two-state solution’ would create an independent Israel and Palestine, and is the mainstream approach to resolving the conflict.

The idea is that Israelis and Palestinians both want to have their countries; Israelis want a Jewish state, and Palestinians want a Palestinian one. 

But since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 242 used as a framework for implementing the solution to the conflict, Israel has violated it by entrenching its occupation of the Palestinian territories through illegal settlements.

Earlier in the interview, Ms Hotovely was asked about United Nations demands for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

‘Ceasefire – no. It just basically means we would like to welcome another attack of October 7. This is the only thing it means,’ she replied.

Israel kept up its barrage of Gaza on Thursday. At least 18,608 people have been killed and 50,594 injured in airstrikes since the beginning of the war.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who is visiting the region and will be in Israel on Thursday and Friday, would discuss with the Israelis the need to be more precise with their strikes against Hamas targets, spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza have been unguided, otherwise known as ‘dumb bombs,’ according to a US intelligence assessment reported by CNN.

Palestinians reported Israeli airstrikes overnight in Rafah, the southernmost town along the Egyptian border.

An Associated Press reporter saw 27 bodies being brought into a hospital early on Thursday.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.