Netanyahu under mounting pressureNatanyahu, whose popularity has plummeted since Oct. 7, faces pressure from the US to shift to more precise military operations and do more to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza.The United States is also pushing him on its vision for postwar Gaza, calling for a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern the territory and for negotiations to start on a two-state solution. The authority currently governs pockets of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was ejected from Gaza in 2007 when Hamas took power.But Netanyahu’s governing coalition is beholden to far-right parties that want to step up the offensive, encourage the “voluntary” emigration of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements there. Netanyahu has rejected the entry of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza and ruled out any Palestinian state, saying it would endanger Israel.At a meeting about the war Monday in Brussels, European Union foreign ministers added their voices to the calls for a Palestinian state, saying it was the only way to achieve peace.French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne said Netanyahu’s rejection of statehood was “worrying.” “There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all.””Which are the other solutions they have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill them off?” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said of Israel.The comments late Sunday by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, were notable because before the war, the US had been trying to broker a landmark agreement in which Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel. In September, Netanyahu said Israel was on “the cusp” of a deal.In an interview with CNN, host Fareed Zakaria asked: “Are you saying unequivocally that if there is not a credible and irreversible path to a Palestinian state, there will not be normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel?””That’s the only way we’re going to get a benefit,” Prince Faisal replied. “So, yes.”When asked if oil-rich Saudi Arabia would finance reconstruction in Gaza, he said, “As long as we’re able to find a pathway to a solution … then we can talk about anything.””But if we are just resetting to the status quo before Oct. 7, in a way that sets us up for another round of this, as we have seen in the past, we’re not interested in that conversation.”The Palestinians seek a state that would include Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.Israel views all of Jerusalem as its capital and the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people. It has built scores of settlements across both territories that are home to hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers. Peace talks broke down nearly 15 years ago.
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