‘This place belongs to us’: Israel PM Netanyahu clears stance; vows ‘there’ll be no’ Palestinian state

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday that “there will be no Palestinian state,” as tensions soared following lethal Israeli airstrikes concentrating on Hamas negotiators in Qatar. Speaking at a signing ceremony for a significant Israeli settlement venture within the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu mentioned, “This place belongs to us,” a press release the United Nations has described as an “existential threat” to the viability of a future Palestinian state.On Tuesday, Israeli forces carried out a strike on a Hamas compound in Doha, killing 5 Hamas members and a Qatari soldier. Those killed included Hamam al-Hayya, the son of high Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, Jihad Labad, the negotiator’s workplace director, and bodyguards Ahmad Mamlouk, Abdallah Abdelwahd, and Mumen Hassoun, together with Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari.Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum condemned the assault, accusing the United States of complicity and calling the strike “an assassination of the entire negotiation process,” criticizing Washington as a “full accomplice” in concentrating on Qatar’s mediating position. The strike despatched shockwaves all through the area, which had largely been shielded from direct battle.Meanwhile, the White House emphasised that US President Donald Trump didn’t approve the Israeli motion and was not notified prematurely, though he instructed his envoy to warn Qatar instantly as soon as he grew to become conscious of the assault.Qatar has hosted a number of rounds of oblique talks between Hamas and Israel, sustaining a political workplace for Hamas since 2012 with US approval to facilitate communication. Sheikh Mohammed known as for a collective regional response and introduced an Arab-Islamic summit in Doha to decide subsequent steps.