Will Netanyahu Support a Palestinian State in Address to Congress?

JERUSALEM, Israel – There are media reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be about to abandon his opposition to a Palestinian state next to Israel. That news comes as top Israeli leaders visited the border with Lebanon where war could break out any day.

Aides to the prime minister have reportedly told the White House that when Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress in July, he will present a new take on achieving a pathway to a Palestinian state. That would be a huge shift.

Yet those reports may be wrong. The Prime Minister's Office told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu "opposes a Palestinian state and will not change his position in his address to Congress."

The prime minister has consistently opposed Palestinian statehood in recent years, as poll after poll shows a huge majority of West Bank Palestinians themselves don't want a state next to Israel. They just want Israel destroyed.

Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, points out most Palestinians hail the murderous attacks on Israelis, including what happened on October 7th.

"There's tremendous support within the West Bank for what happened on October 7th," Marcus stated. "There was a poll taken a month and a half after October 7th – and everyone knew what happened, everybody knew about the rape and the destruction and the massacres – and Palestinians were asked 'With everything that's happened up till now, does it make you proud as a Palestinian?' And 98 percent of Palestinians said it made them proud."

Preparing for War with Hezbollah & US Weapons Delays

On another front, both Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog toured Israel's northern border with Lebanon this week. That's where all-out war may soon come, as the Jewish nation seeks to end daily attacks from Hezbollah on Israeli communities along the border.

In Washington, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has supposedly made progress in speeding up shipments of weapons to the U.S. from Israel.

Netanyahu has accused the Biden administration of deliberately slow-walking such shipments.

For the first time, the U.S. administration is admitting there have been bottlenecks in getting some of those weapons shipped.

Gallant addressed Americans, saying Israel needs the U.S. by its side. "The powerful and enduring bond between the United States and Israel is key to our nation's strategy and our security," the defense minister said.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has been one Democrat particularly strong in supporting Israel's war with Hamas as others have wavered. He's met with Netanyahu on his first visit here. "We stand with Israel through this and I'm so sorry for what's been done to this nation," Fetterman declared.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged that his nation will stand with Hezbollah if it comes to war. He's condemning Western nations for backing Netanyahu, whose mental fitness he questioned. Erdogan asserted, "It is extremely bad and pathetic that governments that talk about freedom, human rights, and justice are captives of a mentally ill person like Netanyahu."

Antisemitism in NYC

In New York City, a masked man who demanded Jews get off a subway car earlier this month faces criminal charges of attempted coercion. He had yelled, "Raise your hands if you're a Zionist – this is your chance to get out!"

Earlier this week, several dozen people protested against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his refusal to prosecute most of the anti-Israel demonstrators who illegally occupied Columbia University's Hamilton Hall this spring.

One protester said of Bragg, "He's either a coward or an antisemite."

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