Prime Minister Netanyahu said that an independent Palestinian state would be a threat to Israel.

During a dinner with US President Donald Trump on July 7, a reporter asked Mr. Trump whether an independent Palestinian state was possible. "I don't know," Mr. Trump replied, referring the question to the Israeli leader.

"I think the Palestinians should have all the power to govern themselves, but no power to threaten us. That means the ultimate power, like overall security, will always be in our hands," Netanyahu said.

He then argued that Hamas had used its control of Gaza to launch its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. “So people will not be able to say, ‘Let’s give them another state.’ That would be a platform to destroy Israel,” Netanyahu said.

"We will make peace with our Palestinian neighbors who do not want to destroy us, and we will make a peace in which our security, the ultimate power over security, is always in our hands," the prime minister added.

“Now people will say, ‘That was not a complete state, that was not a state, not this or that’. We don’t care. We have vowed never to do it again. Never again is now.That will not happen again," he said.

Although the United Nations and the United States have supported the two-state solution for decades, some Israeli politicians and Republicans in Washington increasingly describe it as unrealistic.

Last month, according to Reuters, the US State Department warned other countries not to recognize a Palestinian state. However, according to Al Jazeera, Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by more than 140 countries, accounting for about 75% of the United Nations membership as of November 2024.

Israel has resumed its campaign against Hamas in Gaza after a two-month ceasefire collapsed in March when the sides failed to reach a deeper agreement. Mr Netanyahu said the campaign would continue until all remaining hostages were freed and the militant groups were eliminated.

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week he was “appalled by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” which has been worsened by a lack of access to food and other aid. At least 57,523 Palestinians have been killed there since October 2023, according to local authorities in the territory.