Ministers flog idea of Palestinian statehood recognition, say it’s not worth normalization

According to the Ynet news site, Netanyahu coordinated a statement rejecting unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, and Gideon Sa’ar, a cabinet minister.

Sa’ar says a reported US proposal to place a “firm timeline” on the creation of a Palestinian state “would be like the sacrificing of Czechoslovakia in 1938,” referring to the Nazi appeasement strategy, Ynet reports.

“The claims that a Palestinian state will bring us security is the biggest absurdity of all,” Sa’ar, a longtime opponent of Palestinian statehood, was as quoted saying.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who until recently was foreign minister, tells Army Radio that normalization with Saudi Arabia or anyone else is not worth allowing the Palestinians to have a state of their own.

“If the price of expanding peace agreements is a Palestinian state, then I’ll give up on the peace agreements,” he says.