Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
sidestepped a question on whether he still supports the creation of a
Palestinian state as he left for the United States on Monday on his first visit
since President Donald Trump took office.
Netanyahu has never publicly abandoned his
conditional backing for Palestinian statehood, which he first stated in 2009,
but Palestinians say that commitment has been rendered worthless by Israeli
settlement building on occupied land.
Hours before Netanyahu's departure for Washington,
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Army Radio that "all members of
the security cabinet, and foremost the prime minister, oppose a Palestinian
state". The forum convened on Sunday ahead of Wednesday's White House
meeting between Netanyahu and Trump.
On the Tel Aviv airport tarmac, Netanyahu was asked
if he still stood behind the so-called two-state solution. "Come with me,
you'll hear very clear answers," he told reporters accompanying him on the
flight.
If confirmed, a departure from a two-state policy
would present Israel with diplomatic, political and demographic challenges as
it contends with the complex question of how to deal with a Palestinian
population now under limited self-rule.
Far-right partners in Netanyahu's coalition have
called for the annexation of parts of the West Bank, a demand he has resisted.
Last month, Israel's Haaretz newspaper said
Netanyahu, in a closed-door meeting with Likud ministers, coined a new term
"Palestinian state-minus" to describe his vision of limited
Palestinian sovereignty in the territory.
He has already conditioned Palestinian statehood
on demilitarisation, long-term presence of Israeli troops in the West Bank and
Palestinian recognition of Israel as the "nation-state" of the Jewish
people.
A one-state
solution to the conflict would compromise Israel's Jewish character through the
absorption of several million Palestinians.
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