Recognizing ‘Palestine’ would create Hamas terror state, Israeli FM says in response to Blinken

Granting the Palestinians statehood in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, would amount to the creation of a “Hamas state,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar charged on Wednesday, speaking hours after his U.S. counterpart endorsed the recognition of “Palestine.”

“In the current situation, establishing a Palestinian state will surely be a Hamas state,” Israel’s top diplomat told an Italian reporter who asked about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks during a joint press briefing with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Rome. Sa’ar added that “there is a reason why the Palestinian Authority didn’t make elections since 2005.”

A poll published in December showed that nearly two-thirds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and Judea and Samaria prefer Hamas to be part of, or even lead, a governing body that would control the Strip after the current war with Jerusalem concludes.   (Read More)