Israeli parliament 'firmly' opposed to a Palestinian state

Israel's parliament voted overwhelmingly against the creation of a Palestinian state on Thursday.

The resolution said that the Israeli parliament "firmly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state (on land) west of Jordan."

"The creation of a Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel would constitute an existential danger for the state of Israel and its citizens, would perpetuate the Israel-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region," the resolution added.

It claimed that "promoting" a Palestinian state was "a reward for terrorism and would only encourage Hamas and its supporters" after the October 7 terror attacks.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by many countries including Germany and Israel.

The resolution passed with 68 votes in favor, while nine members of the Arab parties voted against it.

The rest of the 120-member parliament either abstained or were absent from the session, which lasted until the early hours of Thursday morning. 

The Palestinian Authority responded by accusing Israel's right-wing government of "plunging the region into an abyss."

The UN said that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was also very disappointed by the Israeli parliament's vote.

"You can't vote away the two-state solution so the secretary-general is very disappointed by the decision of the Knesset," his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Netanyahu visits Rafah

Later on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to Israeli troops in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces entered Rafah in May, forcing most of the 2 million Palestinians who had been taking shelter there to flee.

Netanyahu's visit was announced hours after he left the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, he said that "only the military pressure helps us advance the hostage deal."

zc/rm (AFP, AP, dpa)