Israel minister says 'we will build Jewish Israeli state' in West Bank
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank, a day after the government announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory.
He said the move was a "clear message" to French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Israel's foreign ministry accused of carrying out a "crusade against the Jewish state."
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, seen as a major obstacle to lasting peace, are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and Thursday's announcement drew sharp foreign criticism.
"This is a decisive response to the terrorist organizations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land," Katz said in a video published by his office.
"It is also a clear message to Macron and his associates: they will recognize a Palestinian state on paper -- but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground," he added.
"The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper."
During a visit to Singapore on Friday, Macron asserted that recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, was "not only a moral duty, but a political necessity".
He also said that European countries should "harden the collective position" against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The French president later told a top defense forum in Singapore that abandoning war-torn Gaza to its own fate and giving Israel a "free pass" would kill the West's credibility with the rest of the world.
Israel slammed Macron's comments, accusing him of undertaking a "crusade against the Jewish state".
"There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on X, defending its efforts to allow in aid.
"But instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt its national day will be October 7."
- 'Wrong direction' -
Defense Minister Katz was speaking during a visit to the Sa-Nur settlement outpost in the northern West Bank. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Sa-Nur was evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel's disengagement from Gaza, promoted by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon.
The Palestinian Red Crescent on Friday said it was dealing with three shrapnel injuries from bullets in the nearby Palestinian village of Sanur, including two girls aged between 10 and 12 with head wounds.
"They are being taken to the hospital," it said in a statement.
An international conference meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is set to take place in June at the UN headquarters in New York.
A diplomat in Paris close to preparations for the conference said it should pave the way for more countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
Macron said in April that France could recognize a Palestinian state in June.
Following Israel's announcement of the new settlements on Thursday, Britain called the move a "deliberate obstacle" to Palestinian statehood, while UN chief Antonio Guterres's spokesman said it pushed efforts towards a two-state solution "in the wrong direction".
Source: Associated Press
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