Facing international pressure to end the war in Gaza, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a televised speech today that Israel would not stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed, saying, “We will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory.” In response to calls for a Palestinian state, he said, “Israel needs security control over all territory west of the Jordan.”
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to negotiate a “pathway to a Palestinian state” with moderate Palestinians. Blinken stated that Israel “must stop taking steps that undercut the Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively.”
Cato Institute foreign policy analyst Jon Hoffman told Newsweek, “Netanyahu’s refusal to entertain a two-state solution, which he prides himself on preventing, or any other political solution only leaves the option of perpetual war in Gaza, which might be favored by the embattled prime minister.”
The number of deaths in Gaza recently surpassed 24,000, and the humanitarian crisis continues to intensify. The UN has reported that more than 25 percent of people in Gaza are starving, and the battle in southern Gaza threatens the largest hospital still in operation. Israel states the battle in northern Gaza is nearing its end, but Netanyahu has indicated the war will continue, saying, “Victory will take many more months but we are determined to achieve it.”
