Palestinian state can only be formed if Israel decides to back move, Sa’ar tells Belgian media

In an interview with the Belgian Sudinfo newspaper, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar calls Belgium’s announcement yesterday that it will recognize a Palestinian state “a very strange decision, which was taken under pressure.”

“But in any case, I’ll tell you frankly: it’s not happening now!” he continues. “If Hamas continues to rule Gaza, it will never happen. So the question of whether a Palestinian state will exist or not is not linked to the decision of the government in Brussels, but rather to the decisions of the government in Jerusalem.”

Asked about the future of Gaza after Hamas, Sa’ar says that Israel has “no intention of controlling the Palestinian population in Gaza.”

“They must be given autonomy, but it must be linked to the end of two things: first, the end of terrorism, of course; second, the end of incitement.”

He doesn’t categorically rule out a Palestinian state, instead saying that “this process can only be realistic when they change their attitude.”

He says US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over and rebuild Gaza “can be a good thing,” but only under two conditions: “The first: that those who want to leave Gaza can do so freely, of their own choice. The second: that there are countries willing to welcome them.”