Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday criticised world leaders who recently recognised a Palestinian state, as he departed for the United States to meet with President Donald Trump and address the United Nations General Assembly.
His remarks came three days after France hosted a special summit on the sidelines of the UN meeting, where several Western governments formally recognised Palestine amid the ongoing Gaza war, now nearing its second year.
“At the General Assembly, I will speak our truth — the truth of Israel’s citizens, our soldiers, and our nation,” Netanyahu said at Ben Gurion Airport before leaving Tel Aviv. “I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning murderers, rapists and burners of children, want to give them a state in the heart of Israel. This will not happen.”
On Wednesday, Netanyahu dismissed the recognitions — including those by France and Britain — as a “shameful capitulation of some leaders to Palestinian terror,” insisting they “do not obligate Israel in any way.”
In Washington, Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump for the fourth time since the conflict began. He said talks would focus on securing the release of hostages held in Gaza, defeating Hamas, and expanding Israel’s regional peace agreements.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that Washington was preparing to unveil a “Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Middle East and Gaza.” He suggested the proposal addressed both Israeli concerns and those of neighbouring Arab and Islamic states, expressing confidence that a breakthrough could be announced “in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, the conflict raged on. Gaza’s civil defence reported that an Israeli airstrike on a home sheltering displaced families in central Gaza killed at least 11 people on Thursday. Israeli ground forces have intensified their assault on Gaza City in recent weeks, prompting hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee.
