Netanyahu rejects idea of creating Palestinian state

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that the establishment of a Palestinian state would be a “huge reward for terrorism”, France 24 reported.

Macron, meanwhile, posted on X that he had told Netanyahu the suffering of civilians in Gaza “must end” and only a ceasefire in the war with Hamas would free the remaining Israeli hostages in the territory.

A statement released by Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders spoke by phone and the Israeli prime minister expressed to the French president his “strong opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, stating that it would be a huge reward for terrorism”.

“The prime minister told the French president that a Palestinian state established just minutes away from Israeli cities would become a stronghold of Iranian terrorism, and that a vast majority of the Israeli public firmly opposes this – and this has been his consistent and long-standing policy.”