Israeli Minister Tells US Senators: We Will Never Agree to Establishment of Palestinian State

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told a bipartisan group of visiting US senators that Israel “will never agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state,” amid a fragile Gaza ceasefire following Israeli violations.

In a statement from his office, Katz said he told the group — led by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and including Deputy Mideast Envoy Morgan Ortagus — that Israel’s main priorities are clear: “Preventing Iran attaining a nuclear weapon, releasing the hostages, and eliminating Hamas in Gaza.”

Following that, he added, Israel is seeking to reach a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.

Katz told the group that Trump’s plan for Gaza — in which he suggested the US “take over” the Strip, displacing its two million residents, is “the only one that can guarantee security for the citizens of the south and the State of Israel.”

This is not the first time Katz has expressed opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Last November, he also stated that Israel would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state, claiming that such a state would pose a security threat to Israel.

In a post on X, Katz claimer, “A Palestinian state would mean an Iranian base in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, just like in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq – threatening population centers, flight paths, shipping routes, and economic hubs in Israel,” adding: “We cannot let this happen.”

The Israeli government, led by a right-wing coalition, has consistently opposed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, a position that stands in contrast to the international community’s widespread support for a two-state solution as a means to resolve the Israeli occupation that has persisted for over 76 years.

Fragile Ceasefire

Katz’s remarks come amid cncerns about whether a fragile ceasefire in Gaza agreed last month would hold.

Hamas said last week it is committed to the release of Israeli captives and upholding the ceasefire agreement, just days after the Palestinian resistance group announced it would delay the release of the three captives scheduled for Saturday due to Israeli ceasefire violations, including shooting Palestinians in Gaza and not allowing the agreed-upon number of tents, shelters, and other vital aid to enter the besieged enclave.

Israel responded by saying that if Hamas failed to free captives according to the schedule, it would resume its war.

In a statement, Hamas said it would continue implementing the ceasefire agreement, including the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian detainees, “according to the specified timetable.”

A Palestinian source quoted by AFP news agency said on Thursday that mediators had obtained from Israel a “promise … to put in place a humanitarian protocol starting from this morning” that would allow construction equipment and temporary housing into the devastated territory.

Mediators also confirmed all parties remain committed to fulfilling the ceasefire terms, including the humanitarian protocol.

Since the ceasefire went into effect on January 19, Israeli forces have killed at least 92 Palestinians and wounded more than 800, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Reports said indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel are expected to start soon on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

On Saturday, Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza handed over three more Israeli captives as part of the sixth prisoner exchange deal under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

The three captives are American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, Russian-Israeli Alexandre Troufanov and Argentinian-Israeli Yair Horn.

In return, the Israeli occupation freed 369 Palestinian detainees, including 36 Palestinians who were serving life sentences and 333 who were abducted in the Gaza Strip during the assault.

Violating Ceasefire Again

On Sunday, three Palestinian policemen were killed in an Israeli airstrike east of Rafah in southern Gaza, Gaza’s Interior Ministry confirmed, marking another violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The Interior Ministry called on mediators and the international community to compel the occupation to stop targeting the police force, which is a civil apparatus.”

The officers were hit while securing the entry of aid trucks through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing.

The Israeli military claimed it struck ‘several armed individuals’ in southern Gaza after they approached Israeli soldiers.

“Hits were identified,” it said in a statement.

Hamas issued a statement condemning the “treacherous” drone attack that killed three police officers as “a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

Hamas added that Israel’s refusal to allow the entry of heavy machinery into the strip also breaches the terms of the agreement, saying that Israel’s stalling of the second phase of the talks confirm its lack of commitment to the truce.