Netanyahu publicly rejects US push for Palestinian state

GAZA STRIP (Palestinian Territories), Jan 19 (Agencies): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state once the conflict in Gaza comes to an end.
In a news conference, a defiant Mr Netanyahu vowed to press on with the offensive in Gaza "until complete victory": the destruction of Hamas and return of the remaining Israeli hostages, adding that it could take "many more months".
With almost 25,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and 85 per cent of the Strip's population displaced, Israel is under intense pressure to rein in its offensive and engage in meaningful talks over a sustainable end to the war.
Israel's allies, including the US - and many of its foes - have urged a revival of the long-dormant "two-state solution", in which a future Palestinian state would sit side-by-side with an Israeli one.
The hope in many circles is that the current crisis could force the warring parties back to diplomacy, as the only viable alternative to endless cycles of violence. But from Mr Netanyahu's comments, his intention appears quite the opposite.
Speaking to reporters following Mr Netanyahu's latest comments, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby recognised that the US and Israel "obviously" see things differently.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu said Israel must have security control over all land west of the River Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state.
"This is a necessary condition, and it conflicts with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What to do? I tell this truth to our American friends, and I also stopped the attempt to impose a reality on us that would harm Israel's security," he said.
Mr Netanyahu has spent much of his political career opposing Palestinian statehood, boasting just last month that he was proud to have prevented its establishment, so his latest remarks come as no surprise.
Meanwhile, Security in the Middle East region depends solely on Palestinians getting their own state, the Saudi ambassador to the US said on Thursday.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos during a Saudi-focused panel discussion, Princess Reema bint Bandar said the Kingdom fully recognized Israel's need and desire for security following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants.
However, that security would not come "at the expense" of the safety of the Palestinian people, and there is a need for an immediate ceasefire, she added.
"How many more children need to die? How many more limbs need to be lost? How many more parents need to lose their livelihoods? It cannot happen anymore; the Kingdom has condemned violence on both sides," she said.
She also said the Middle East is united in its calls for peace in Gaza, while acknowledging that the region is going through a volatile period, recognizing the "daily shock" of the Gazan people, and adding that it is vital to "do the right thing for the future."
Death toll in Gaza at 24,762
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday the war between militants and Israel has killed 24,762 people in the Palestinian territory.
The toll includes 142 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, while 62,108 people have been wounded since war erupted on October 7.
UN expert says Israel's Gaza offensive breaches international law
Israel has broken international law with its "relentless" bombardment of Gaza that has levelled neighbourhoods and killed thousands of Palestinians, a UN rights expert said Thursday.
The comments by Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who is the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, came as Israel confronts a case brought by South Africa to the UN's International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide.
"Israel has done a number of things that are highly illegal, highly unlawful," Albanese told a Madrid news conference.
While Israel has the right to self-defence, international humanitarian law must be respected "to protect people who are not actively involved in combat. Civilians, prisoners of war and the sick and wounded," she added.
Nearly 20,000 babies born into Gaza war 'hell': UN
The United Nations said Friday that thousands of babies had been born in conditions "beyond belief" in Gaza since the war there erupted more than three months ago.
Spokeswoman Tess Ingram, back from a recent visit to the Gaza Strip, described mothers bleeding to death and one nurse who had performed emergency caesareans on six dead women.
Nearly 20,000 babies have been born into the war that began after the Hamas attacks inside Israel on October 7, according to the UN children's agency UNICEF.