Ramallah slams Knesset’s vote against Palestinian statehood

The Knesset’s vote last night against the establishment of a Palestinian state draws strident criticism from Ramallah.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, says that there is “no peace or security for anyone without the establishment of a Palestinian state” with East Jerusalem as its capital, noting that numerous UN member countries have already recognized it.

He further accuses the Israeli government of “pushing the entire region into the abyss” with Washington’s support, and labels Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as “terrorism” for the civilian deaths it has caused.

Another senior PA official, Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a top aide to Abbas, writes on X that the Knesset’s decision confirms Israel’s “racism,” “disregard for international law,” and “policy of perpetuating the occupation forever.”

Al-Sheikh urges countries that are hesitant to recognize a Palestinian state to do so “immediately” in order to protect the two-state solution, and calls on Arab states to “respond appropriately” to the resolution passed in the Knesset.