Far Right lawmakers called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening to clarify that a Palestinian state will never be established or recognized by Israel.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Netanyahu's silence on the matter led to a diplomatic deterioration over the issue in a post on X/Twitter.
"Two months ago, immediately following the announcement by several countries of their unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, you committed to responding to the matter decisively upon your return from the United States.
"Two months have passed in which you have chosen silence and diplomatic disgrace. The deterioration we are now witnessing in this matter is dangerous, and it is your responsibility due to your silence," he continued. "Formulate an appropriate and decisive response immediately to make it clear to the entire world: No Palestinian state will ever arise on the lands of our homeland."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that "there is no such thing as a 'Palestinian people.' It is an invention that has no historical, archaeological, or factual basis. The collection of immigrants from Arab countries to the Land of Israel is not a people. And certainly they do not deserve a prize for the terror, the murder, and the atrocities they have sown everywhere, especially from Gaza.
"The only true solution in Gaza is encouraging voluntary emigration, and certainly not a prize state for terror, which would serve as a base for continued terrorism."
The Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, also called on the prime minister to clarify that "a Palestinian state will not be established in any shape or form.
"Those who remained silent about the recognition by dozens of European countries of a 'Palestinian' state are now enabling its establishment de facto," it said.
References and recognition of Palestinian state
Friday saw the US, Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey issue a joint statement expressing support for a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution under consideration that would "offer a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. We emphasize that this is a sincere effort, and the Plan provides a viable path towards peace and stability, not only between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but for the entire region."
Other references to a Palestinian state were mentioned in a UN Security Council draft from Thursday, discussing the International Security Force that is meant to govern Gaza.
“After the PA reform program is faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood," the UN draft said. The draft also mentioned that the United States would "establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence."
Days earlier, a draft to end the war in Gaza was said to have been circulated by the US for review by the UNSC members, which added that any withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip will be "conditional upon verified demilitarization" and will proceed "in coordination with the United States and regional Arab states."
Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.