Netanyahu: Israel will respond to Palestinian statehood moves within days; Palestine ‘would endanger our existence’

Ahead of his scheduled speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at his weekly cabinet meeting that Israel will respond to calls to establish a Palestinian state at the conference of world leaders in the coming days, calling for a “fight” against the move, which he says would “endanger [Israel’s] existence.”

“At the UN, I will present the truth. This is Israel’s truth, but it is also the objective truth in our just struggle against the forces of evil, and our vision for real peace — peace through strength,” Netanyahu says in his opening remarks, reminding cabinet ministers that he will meet with US President Donald Trump following his UN speech.

“We will also have to fight at the UN and in all other arenas against the false propaganda directed at us and the calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state — which would endanger our existence and constitute an absurd reward for terror,” he continues, repeating past remarks that nations recognizing a Palestinian state at the General Assembly are rewarding Hamas’s acts of terror against Israel.

“The international community will hear from us about this in the coming days,” the premier says.

“After the UN General Assembly, I will meet with my friend, President Trump. This will be the fourth time I meet with him since the beginning of his second term — more than any other world leader. And we have a great deal to discuss,” Netanyahu says.