In 2011, Netanyahu told Congress his conditions for a Palestinian state. Nothing in the draft UN resolution contradicts it. ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Sunday, November 16, 2025

In 2011, Netanyahu told Congress his conditions for a Palestinian state. Nothing in the draft UN resolution contradicts it.

Israel's far-Right ministers are upset that the US has signaled that is is offering a conditional pathway to a potential Palestinian state. Yet there is nothing in the US position that contradicts what Netanyahu himself has said on more than one occasion.

The US Mission to the UN issued a joint statement Friday together with several Muslim countries:

The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye express our joint support for the Security Council Resolution currently under consideration, drafted by the United States after consultation and in cooperation with Council members and partners in the region.

The historic Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict announced on September 29 is endorsed by the resolution and was celebrated and endorsed in Sharm Al Sheikh.

We are issuing this statement as the Member States that gathered during High-Level Week to begin this process, which offers a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. We emphasize that this is a sincere effort, and the Plan provides a viable path towards peace and stability, not only between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but for the entire region.

We are looking forward to this resolution’s swift adoption.

The specific language in the leaked versions of the draft Security Council resolution is weaker. It says, "After the PA reform program is faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."

This morning, Netanyahu responded to the backlash saying that he is against a Palestinian state, saying, "Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. Gaza will be demobilized and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I don't need reinforcements and tweets and lectures from anyone."

Yet in 2011, Netanyahu laid out his conditions for a Palestinian state to Congress, and he ended his speech by saying, "So I say to President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas! Sit down and negotiate! Make peace with the Jewish state! And if you do, I promise you this. Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. It will be the first to do so."

His speech did include several important conditions that are not mentioned in the US draft resolution, top among them the demand for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, but also that the Palestinian state is demilitarized, Israel maintains a long term security presence along the Jordan river, and Jerusalem remains the undivided capital of Israel. These are all non-starters for the Palestinians and they are all critical Israeli demands.

But the new resolution language does not contradict Bibi's 2011 speech at all. His statement today opposing a Palestinian state "in any territory" is the only contradiction I see. And given that the Palestinians would never agree to his 2011 conditions, even that contradiction is practically meaningless.

Which means everything happening is just political theater. The Saudis et. al. need the pretense of progress towards a Palestinian state, Israel needs to look flexible while holding fast to its conditions that are truly critical which the Palestinians would never agree to, Bibi needs to look tough to his coalition and flexible to the US, the US needs to show progress towards a comprehensive Middle East peace by expanding the Abraham Accords, the Palestinians need to insist on conditions that would ultimately lead to Israel's destruction, and the world will continue to blame Israel for everything anyway.