The Israeli parliament (Knesset) has approved a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The resolution, put forward by the right-wing opposition party New Hope, was passed by 68-9 votes late on Wednesday.
“The Knesset of Israel firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan,” the document read.
It also argued that the establishment of a Palestinian state “will pose an existential danger to … Israel and ... perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region.”
The New Hope party chairman, Gideon Sa'ar, said the resolution “signals to the international community that pressure to impose a Palestinian state on Israel is futile."
The vote comes before Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US to address a joint session of Congress and meet with President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly supported the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"The measure was intended as a way to apply pressure on Netanyahu, since he is likely to face opposite pressure from US officials on a … deal that could include future discussions of Palestinian sovereignty," The Jerusalem Post reported.
It was referring to attempts by the US to broker a deal between the Hamas resistance group and Israel that would see an end to the regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Israel unleashed its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out its historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Israel now faces a South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) while the International Criminal Court Chief (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli officials on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the besieged Gaza.
The move by the Knesset comes while as of June 2024, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 145 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, or over 75% of all UN members.