Israel’s Knesset on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted against the recognition of a Palestinian state, with 99 members out of its 120 members voting in favor of the decision and only nine opposing. The resolution passed on Wednesday underscores Israel’s firm stance on the matter, despite growing pressure from the United States.

“Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition following the massacre of October 7 will give a huge reward to terrorism that was unprecedented and will prevent any future peace settlement,” the Knesset said in an official statement.

The debate leading up to the vote was marked by fiery exchanges among Knesset members. Ahmed Tibi, a member from the Arab Ta’al party, vociferously supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, declaring, “A Palestinian state will be established Ras Ben Amo [Arabic slang for in ‘spite of opposition’].” This comment sparked a sharp retort from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who responded, “Go to Syria. Terrorist.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude towards the members of the Knesset, including those from the opposition, for their united front in this vote. “I don’t remember many votes in which the Knesset voted with a majority of 99 out of 120,” Netanyahu remarked. “The Knesset united against the attempt to dictate to us the establishment of a Palestinian state, a dictate which would not only not bring peace but would endanger the State of Israel. The members of the house are united as the people are united in a way that was never before.”

“The vote today sends a clear message to the international community,” he added.

Yair Lapid, who leads the opposition, explained his party’s support for the proposal, underscoring their opposition to unilateral actions. Addressing the Prime Minister, Lapid still criticized Netanyahu’s approach, saying, “You invented a threat that doesn’t exist,” and accused him of diverting attention from domestic issues, saying, “There is not a single official in the world that offers unilateral recognition of Palestine. You came up with a spin so they wouldn’t talk about the ‘you are guilty’ post signs.”

“All you wanted was for the Knesset not to talk about the fact that you are the head and that you are to blame, in addition to not bringing up the conscription law, which is rightly known as the evasion law, and the budget law.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)