Netanyahu Condemns Leaders Recognising Palestinian State Ahead of US Trip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticised leaders who have recognised a Palestinian state as he prepared to travel to the United States on Thursday for White House talks and an address to the UN General Assembly.

His comments follow a special summit led by France on the sidelines of the General Assembly, during which several Western governments formally recognised the State of Palestine amidst the ongoing nearly two-year Gaza war.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the assembly on Friday.

"At the General Assembly, I will speak our truth—the truth of the citizens of Israel, the truth of the soldiers, the truth of our nation," Netanyahu said at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of his departure, according to a statement from his office.
"I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, rapists and burners of children, want to give them a state in the heart of Israel. This will not happen."

On Wednesday, he said that recent recognitions of Palestinian statehood, including by Britain and France, "do not obligate Israel in any way," calling them a "shameful capitulation of some leaders to Palestinian terror."

On Thursday, Netanyahu said he would meet US President Donald Trump for a fourth time in Washington.

"I will discuss with him the great opportunities that our victories have brought, as well as our need to complete the goals of the war: to bring back all our hostages, to defeat Hamas and to expand the circle of peace that has opened up to us," he said.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that he expected a breakthrough in Gaza in the coming days, noting that Trump had presented a 21-point peace plan to leaders of Arab and Islamic countries.

"We presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Middle East and Gaza," Witkoff said.
"I think it addresses Israeli concerns as well as the concerns of all the neighbours in the region," he said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, without elaborating on the individual points.
"We're hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we'll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough."

Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike on a home sheltering displaced people in central Gaza killed at least 11 people on Thursday, the territory’s civil defence spokesperson told AFP.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has been carrying out a ground assault on Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to flee.

Gaza Casualty Snapshot

The situation underscores the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid continued military operations and international diplomatic efforts.