Netanyahu’s hardline stance over Gaza leaves him increasingly isolated

As nations across the Middle East and the West look towards what comes the 'day after' the war in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister looks increasingly out of touch and alone, write Tom Bennett in Jerusalem and Chris Stevenson

Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip (Israel Defense Forces via Reuters)

Few in the region were surprised by comments from Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, who told CNN that the Gulf nation won’t normalise ties with Israel unless an agreement is reached over a credible path to a Palestinian state.

But the statement is of particular note given that just weeks prior to the war, Israel and Riyadh had been “at the cusp” – in the words of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – of a landmark normalisation agreement. The proposed deal would have seen Riyadh receive US security guarantees, aid in establishing a civilian nuclear programme, and progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For the moment, however, the prospect of such a deal seems some way off. “The war changes so much,” Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, told The Independent. “We are in a different situation altogether.”

The hardline stance that Netanyahu has publicly taken over the creation of a Palestinian state in recent days reflects a position he has held for the vast majority of his political career. But the outright rejection of what is US foreign policy reveals a man with less and less room for manoeuvre. The statement from Saudi sees it join a growing chorus of nations – including Israel’s allies the US, UK, and EU – that are ratcheting up the pressure for what comes the “day after” Israel’s war on Hamas ends.

Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly taken a hardline stance, suggesting a Palestinian state would pose ‘an existential danger’ to Israel (Reuters)

The shock Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October left more than 1,200 people dead, with around 240 hostages taken back into Gaza. Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and has launched airstrikes and ground operations inside Hamas-controlled Gaza, backed up by a blockade. Health officials in the territory say 25,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed. Medics have reported heavy fighting in the southern city of Khan Younis, saying dozens of dead and wounded people have been brought to the city’s already overwhelmed Nasser Hospital in the last 24 hours. Families could be seen fleeing south, to areas already packed with hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

On Friday, EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels to discuss the conflict. Also invited were the foreign ministers of Israel, the Palestinians, Egypt, Jordan and a representative of the Arab League. The ministers from Israel and the Palestinians were not due to meet each other. It comes after Mr Netanyahu suggested that a Palestinian state would pose an “an existential danger” to Israel.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said ahead of the meeting: “What are the other solutions they have in mind? Make all the Palestinians leave? Kill all of them? … The way they are destroying Hamas is not the way to do it. They are sealing the hate for generations.”

"What we want to do is to build a two-state solution. So let’s talk about it," he said.

Palestinians outside the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis as heavy fighting continues in southern Gaza (AP)

France’s foreign affairs minister, Stephane Sejourne, said ahead of the meeting: “The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all.”

Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, went further. “They [Israel] are defying the whole international community and it is about time the world took a stand,” he said ahead of the Brussels meeting. “The only way out of this misery is a two-state solution.”

“We have engaged in over 30 years of process and look where that has got us,” Mr Safadi added, referring to intermittent Israeli-Palestinian peace talks since the 1990s.

“A moment of truth is upon us... the path is clear, we want peace for everybody and a two-state solution is the only path – go ahead and implement it?”

Frustration within the administration of US president Joe Biden has been building for some time over Mr Netanyahu’s attitude. The office of prime minister Rishi Sunak used language a little more restrained than Jordan’s foreign minister on Monday, but the intention was clear. “It’s disappointing to hear from the Israeli prime minister,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. “The UK’s position remains [that] a two-state solution, with a viable and sovereign Palestinian state living alongside a safe and secure Israel, is the best route to lasting peace.”

While Mr Netanyahu will believe he still has the ability to continue the war on Hamas in Gaza, at least for now, it is clear that his rhetoric is accelerating the closure of that window – as nations around the region and the West look to what comes next.