Britain disappointed with Netanyahu's reluctance to create Palestinian state
Photo: British Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps (Wikipedia)
Israel's refusal to heed calls for the creation of a Palestinian state is very disappointing. Palestinians deserve sovereignty, as stated by the Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, Grant Shapps, according to CNN.
According to him, the whole world has agreed that "the two-state solution is the best way forward," and he added that the British government "fully supports this decision."
"If you are not going to adhere to the two-state solution, I don't see another solution. Palestinians deserve a sovereign state, and Israel deserves full ability to defend itself," Shapps said.
According to the minister, the Palestinian state "must be sovereign from the Palestinian side" and also "provide security guarantees from the Israeli side." In his opinion, there is "no other obvious way out" of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, January 20, the Shadow Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, stated that "Biden is right," calling for a resolution to the conflict based on the two-state principle.
He called the comments of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "unacceptable" and added, "Of course, the Palestinian people deserve a state."
Contradictions between Israel and the U.S. regarding the future of the Gaza Strip
In early January, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and several US officials stated that a lasting peace in the Middle East is impossible without the creation of a state for the Palestinians.
However, Netanyahu rejects any Palestinian statehood that does not guarantee Israel's security. He plans to insist on security control on the West Bank of the Jordan River and in the Gaza Strip in the future after the war, and he disagrees with the rule of the Palestinian Authority.
U.S. President Joe Biden discussed potential solutions for establishing an independent Palestinian state with Netanyahu over the phone.
Meanwhile, the European Union has developed a plan with 10 points for a reliable, comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Additionally, a new peace plan for the Middle East has been proposed by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar.
