The Knesset votes overwhelmingly against the establishment of a Palestinian state. The 120-member Knesset, on a vote of 68-9, with the remaining members not voting, supports a resolution stating that “a Palestinian state would pose an existential danger to the State of Israel.” This vote came on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where the Biden administration publicly advocated a two-state political outcome. Broader still, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, both administratively weak, are in wrenching public disagreement on who should lead the Palestinian future. Hamas is reeling under Israeli attacks in Gaza aimed at killing its fighters and leaders, while the PA is running out of money to pay its administrators. Polls in Israel and among Palestinians show only small minorities supporting a two-state solution, while commentators and politicians, primarily in the U.S. and Europe, remain avidly in favor of a two-state outcome.
