Israel’s parliament passed a resolution against the creation of a Palestinian state on Thursday, sparking international criticism as Israel continues to strike the Gaza Strip despite calls for a ceasefire.
In the tenth month of war in the Palestinian territory, triggered on October 7 by the unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel, the symbolic resolution adopted by the Knesset “firmly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan” that is to say in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, or in the Gaza Strip.
“The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel will constitute an existential danger to the State of Israel,” states the resolution, passed ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will address Congress on July 24.
In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas Health Ministry reported at least 37 deaths, more than half of them women and children, in airstrikes on the Nuseirat and Al-Bureij camps in the central Gaza Strip, as well as Khan Younis and Rafah in the south and Jabalia in the north.
“We watch our children die and we wake up and sleep in fear,” laments a Palestinian woman standing in the rubble of her home, telling AFP that she lost her daughter, grandchildren and son-in-law in a strike in the Deir-Al-Balah area (central).
The army claimed to have “eliminated” the commander of the Islamic Jihad naval forces in Gaza City and another fighter from the armed group allied with Hamas, who “participated in the massacre” of October 7. It said it had “eliminated several terrorists” in Rafah.
” Bloodbath “
The Hamas attack in southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
Of the 251 people abducted, 116 are still being held in Gaza, 42 of whom are dead, according to the army.
The Israeli offensive launched in response in Gaza has so far left 38,848 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
“This is the time to increase the pressure” on Hamas, said Mr. Netanyahu on Tuesday, who wants to continue the war until the destruction of the Islamist movement, in power in Gaza since 2007 and considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, and the release of all the hostages.
Benjamin Netanyahu is facing strong criticism in his country for the lack of an agreement allowing the release of the hostages. On Wednesday, hundreds of relatives of hostages demonstrated again in Tel Aviv.
He is also under pressure from his far-right allies. In a video filmed on the Jerusalem Mosque esplanade, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir warned against “a capitulation deal.”
“The bloodbath in Gaza must stop immediately,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” and “the release of Israeli hostages.”
“Consternation”
France expressed its “consternation” after the Knesset vote, “in contradiction with the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.” Egypt and Jordan condemned the vote.
The international community supports a two-state solution, Palestinian and Israeli, to resolve the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The war has plunged the Palestinian territory into a humanitarian and health disaster, with more than half of its 2.4 million inhabitants displaced and in need of everything.
Humanitarian organizations continue to denounce the increase in strikes and the obstacles placed by Israel in the way of humanitarian deliveries.
“The very large number of victims […] “has pushed health facilities in southern Gaza to the breaking point,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
The NGO Oxfam denounced “Israel’s use of water as a weapon of war”. “Israel’s cutting off of access to water, the systematic destruction of facilities and the deliberate obstruction of access to aid have reduced the amount of water available in Gaza by 94%, to 4.74 liters per day per person, less than a third of the minimum quantity recommended in emergency situations.”
Amnesty International has urged Israel to stop holding Palestinians from Gaza in solitary confinement and subjecting them to “widespread torture” in its jails. The Israeli military “categorically rejects allegations of systematic mistreatment of detainees.”