Lower than a month after the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) dominated that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful and should finish “as expeditiously as potential,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated his nation is not going to relinquish management over the occupied West Financial institution.
“It’s a part of our homeland. We intend to remain there,” Netanyahu stated of the occupied Palestinian land in an interview with TIME journal revealed on Thursday.
The Israeli prime minister additionally reiterated his opposition to the institution of a sovereign Palestinian state, suggesting he helps restricted self-rule for Palestinians so long as Israel maintains safety management over the occupied territory.
His feedback are a transparent problem to the USA, which says it sees a two-state answer as the final word solution to resolve the battle.
“We don’t rule their lands, we don’t management Ramallah, we don’t management Jenin,” Netanyahu stated, referring to Palestinian cities within the West Financial institution. “However we go in and take motion when we’ve got to forestall terrorism.”
Though the Palestinian Authority has some administrative powers within the West Financial institution, the territory is definitely ruled by Israel, which controls its safety, airspace, ports of entry and planning coverage.
The Israeli authorities can also be partly chargeable for tax assortment and the financial system within the West Financial institution, and gives another justice system for Palestinians within the territory by its navy courts.
Main human rights teams have accused Israel of imposing a system of apartheid towards Palestinians within the occupied territories.
In his interview with TIME, Netanyahu additionally stated that Israel will proceed to pursue the warfare in Gaza till it destroys Hamas’ navy capabilities and ensures that the Palestinian group doesn’t management Gaza sooner or later.
The declare got here amid efforts for a ceasefire as a part of a US-backed deal that will see the discharge of Israeli captives in Gaza in addition to an unspecified variety of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The U.S. State Division stated Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have been engaged on last “surmountable” points to finalize the deal.
Netanyahu prompt that some Arab international locations would assist create a Palestinian authorities in Gaza after Hamas is defeated.
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara dismissed Netanyahu’s plans as “dreamy.”
“Actually no Arab associate goes to intervene with out the Palestinian Authority being in cost in Gaza,” Bishara stated. “And having stated all that, we do not know what’s going to occur in Gaza subsequent, as a result of it’s clear that Hamas isn’t keen to surrender even an inch of Gaza and is definitely not keen to lose the warfare.”
As Israel faces genocide expenses earlier than the ICJ for launching probably the most damaging navy campaigns in fashionable historical past in Gaza, Netanyahu has downplayed atrocities towards Palestinians.
He claimed, with out proof, that the ratio of combatants to civilians killed in Gaza is one to 1.
Of the almost 40,000 Palestinians killed by Israel, greater than 16,000 are youngsters and 11,000 are ladies, in keeping with the Gaza authorities media workplace.
Israel has additionally systematically attacked the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, destroying a whole lot of hospitals, faculties and locations of worship.
Requested concerning the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel is proscribing support to Palestinians. “We’ve got completed every thing potential to permit humanitarian help because the starting of the warfare, we allowed about 40,000 vehicles of support to reach,” Netanyahu instructed TIME.
Whereas 40,000 truckloads of support could seem to be a big quantity, it represents a drastic discount within the quantity of meals getting into Gaza, which is about 130 vehicles a day.
In keeping with the United Nations, roughly 500 vehicles entered Gaza earlier than the warfare started.
Final month, UN consultants accused Israel of intentionally ravenous Palestinians in Gaza.
“Israel’s intentional and focused starvation marketing campaign towards the Palestinian individuals is a type of genocidal violence and has precipitated famine throughout Gaza,” they stated.