Netanyahu Draws Red Line for Ending War in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly informed the White House that he opposes a post-war Palestinian state.

On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a surprise attack in the south of Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking hostages. The subsequent Israeli military response in Gaza has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, according to the Associated Press, with around 85 percent of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people displaced.

The conflict has escalated to other countries, with the United States and its allies carrying out attacks on Houthi bases in Yemen after the Houthis targeted shipping in the Red Sea in response to the war.

On Thursday, Netanyahu said during a nationally televised news conference that he told the U.S. that he not only rejected Palestinian statehood but also vowed to continue the military offensive until Israel "realizes a decisive victory over Hamas."

"In any future arrangement...Israel needs security control over all territory west of the Jordan," Netanyahu said in a nationally broadcast news conference, the AP reported. "This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?"

"The prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends," Netanyahu added.

Newsweek reached out to Netanyahu's office and the U.S. State Department via email for comment.

Netanyahu's newest remarks spark strong contrast to the recently iterated views of the White House.

On Tuesday, while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the Biden administration's post-war strategy in Gaza was for "normalization [between Israel and Saudi Arabia] tied to a political horizon for the Palestinians."

Sullivan said a four-pronged approach would encompass that strategy: Gaza would never be used for terror attacks on Israel, peace between Israel and the Arab countries in the region, a state for the Palestinians, and security assurances for Israel.

"I know it is hard to imagine right now, but this is the only path that provides peace and security to all. It can be done," Sullivan said. "The pieces are there to put together. Not years down the road but in the nearer term if all of us pull together and make bold decisions."

After Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week that he couldn't commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state, Blinken reportedly said that Hamas cannot only be extinguished militarily and that Israeli leaders are exercising failure by repeating history, according to NBC News.

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.

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