Israel Scoffs at Reported US Post-War Gaza Peace Plan

The plan includes a Palestinian state, but Israel says it's not the time to talk about 'gifts' for the Palestinians

Israeli officials on Thursday scoffed at a long-term peace plan the US is reportedly working on that includes a path toward a Palestinian state.

According to The Washington Post, the US and several Arab nations are rushing to complete the proposal, which includes a “firm timeline” for the establishment of a Palestinian state. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been shy about his opposition to a Palestinian state at any time in the future, and Israeli officials immediately rejected the reported plan.

The potential plan includes conditions Netanyahu will refuse, such as the withdrawal of many Israeli settlers from the occupied West Bank. When the current Israeli government was formed at the end of 2022, it released a statement vowing to expand settlements with the ultimate goal of annexing the West Bank.

In response to the report, a spokesman for Netanyahu said now was not the time to talk about the “day after.”

“Here in Israel, we are still in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre,” said spokesman Avi Hyman, according to The Times of Israel. “Now is not the time to be speaking about gifts to the Palestinian people.”

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who recently called for Israeli forces to shoot Palestinian women and children, also rejected the potential US plan as “delusional.”

“After October 7 it is clearer than ever that it is forbidden to give them a state. While we are in the government, no Palestinian state will be established,” Ben Gvir said.

According to the Post report, the US is looking to release the outline for the peace plan during a pause in Israel’s slaughter in Gaza that could happen as part of a new hostage deal. But Israel has rejected Hamas’s latest proposal for a deal, and Netanyahu vetoed holding any further negotiations.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.