Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that Israel’s response to the Sunday recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western countries will be decided only after he returns from the United States next week.
“The response to attempts to impose terror states in the heart of our land will be given after my return from the US,” the prime minister said. “There will be no Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.”
Israeli officials claim that in conversations with senior American officials — including during US Secretary of State Rubio’s visit last week — the American administration did not restrict Israel’s possible steps in response to the recognition of a Palestinian state.
“The American message was clear: if there is a unilateral recognition, you can take unilateral steps,” two sources familiar with the discussions told The Jerusalem Post.
One of the sources noted that there was no detailed discussion of what exactly Israel might annex, but rather deliberations over several options — one of which is the annexation of the Jordan Valley.
