Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with US President Donald Trump at the White House and fielded questions from reporters about the future of a ceasefire deal, the prospect of a Palestinian state and what’s going to happen to the Palestinian people in Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut reports from Amman, Jordan.
“Netanyahu said Israelis wouldn’t want a Palestinian state after what happened on October 7th, which is a different tone from what the prime minister had previously said on this matter. He had said that he’s worked his entire political career trying to prevent a Palestinian state, and that he would continue to do so.
“Netanyahu also said that both Israel and the US are actively working to find countries that would take Palestinians from Gaza,” she said.
“This is something the Israelis have been saying for some time, calling it a ‘voluntary migration’ of Palestinians from their homeland. But, of course, this has been condemned as ethnic cleansing.
“The Israelis are also noting that there still is a negotiating team in the Qatari capital, Doha, and there is some movement towards getting to a ceasefire deal.
“The US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said that now more than ever, there is momentum. He himself is heading to the Middle East in the coming days to work on that very deal.”
“But Netanyahu says that despite all of this, until Israel achieves all of its goals and objectives in Gaza, the war would continue,” Salhut reports.