MKs push bill to block West Bank territorial concessions, prevent Palestinian state
Proposal would ‘effectively prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in any future arrangement,’ states the Knesset’s right-wing Land of Israel Caucus
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will soon begin holding hearings on a proposed bill applying a Basic Law requiring a public referendum for land-for-peace deals to the West Bank and Israeli territorial waters, the Knesset’s right-wing Land of Israel Caucus announced on Wednesday.
The so-called Israel Security Law would amend the Basic Law: Referendum, passed in 2014, which states that any plan to cede land in Israel, East Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights, as part of a future peace agreement, must be put to a public referendum. The 2014 law does not cover the West Bank.
If passed into law, the new bill would require either a public referendum or “a special majority of at least 80 MKs to approve any agreement that involves territorial concessions, including in Judea and Samaria” and would “effectively prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in any future arrangement,” the caucus declared in a statement, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.
It would also apply to Israeli territorial waters, a direct response to former prime minister Yair Lapid’s 2022 maritime agreement with Lebanon.
More than 20 lawmakers belonging to the right-wing caucus — most but not all of them members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition — came out in support of the proposal in a letter to caucus co-chair Simcha Rothman, from the far-right Religious Zionism party. Rothman also chairs the Constitution Committee.
“This is the time for action, and the Land of Israel Caucus is taking proactive steps that will shape future political arrangements. There is a broad consensus in Israeli society and in the Knesset that a Palestinian state must not be established,” said Rothman, in a joint statement with caucus co-chairs Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit).

“At our initiative, a decisive majority of the Knesset voted in favor of a declaration rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state,” they continued — referring to a resolution passed overwhelmingly in the plenum ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s July visit to the United States to address a joint session of Congress.
“The bill that is now being promoted is the practical expression of that declarative decision. The statement we are making is clear: After October 7th, the State of Israel will not allow terrorist groups to endanger the security of our citizens by establishing a base of operations on or within our borders. The Israel Security Law seeks to amend the Referendum Law and to bring all areas of the historic Land of Israel and our territorial waters within the scope of the law.”
Last month, Brian Hook, who is leading the Trump transition at the State Department, said that US President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 peace plan, which envisioned the establishment of a semi-contiguous Palestinian state, would likely be back on the table in his next term.
The Saudis have also stated that a precondition to any normalization with Israel, a major goal of Netanyahu, would require a commitment to a viable pathway for a Palestinian state.
Asked if his push for the legislation was related to concern that the Trump administration would revive their so-called deal of the century, Rothman declined to speculate, merely asserting that Israeli officials “need to reflect to the world the deep consensus” that has developed domestically on the issue.
The establishment of a Palestinian state is “the path to the destruction of the State of Israel” and, as such, “it’s a good idea to make sure no one will be tempted to change this deep status quo in Israeli society, under any pressure,” he said.

“We need to learn from what happened before October 7th. It’s easy to forget the neighborhood that we are living in. You would think it’s not easy. I definitely would say I was surprised how easily people bought the lies about a Palestinian state and the peace and prosperity that it will bring — all the dreams of Oslo and the disengagement and whatever,” Rothman continued, referring to the 1990s agreements with the Palestinians and the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
“I think that now, when we have paid such a heavy price and we all understand the dangers, it’s time to set it in legislation so it won’t be forgotten easily.”
According to a survey released this September, only 21% of Jewish Israelis, a 13-point decrease from 2022, support a two-state solution.
Asked about Religious Zionism chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s recent statement that Trump’s victory provides Israel with the opportunity to advance the annexation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Rothman declined to make any specific predictions.
However, he said that he believed a Trump White House would provide “an opportunity to think about solutions to the problems in the Middle East and for the State of Israel in ways that the current administration was not even open to listen to.”