Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar answers a question from a journalist during a joint press conference with the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (not pictured) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest, Hungary, on January 23, 2025. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP.)
Unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state will lead Israel to take "unilateral measures," warned Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday in response to ongoing discussions on the issue.
"Any (unilateral) attempt... will only harm the future prospects of a bilateral process and push us to take unilateral measures in response," said Saar following a meeting with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, in Jerusalem. Germany supports the principle of a two-state solution with bilateral recognition of both Israeli and Palestinian states.
"The prospect of a two-state solution is the best chance for living in peace, security, and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians, and it should not be undermined by the advancement of illegal settlement construction or premature recognition of a Palestinian state," noted Wadephul.
Nearly 150 countries recognize the Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway, and Spain took the step, followed by Slovenia in June.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to co-chair an international conference at the United Nations with Saudi Arabia in June to revive the two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis. He expressed hope that this occasion will "trigger a series of recognitions" of a Palestinian state, notably by France, but also by Israel from several Arab-Muslim countries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several of his government ministers — one of the most right-wing in the country's history — have reiterated in recent months their opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state. For them, as Saar repeated on Sunday, it would mean "rewarding Hamas terrorism."
The war in Gaza was triggered by the attack carried out on Oct. 7, 2023, by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, resulting in the death of 1,218 Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. The Israeli reprisal campaign has resulted in at least 52,829 deaths in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, deemed reliable by the U.N. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 58 are still held in Gaza, 34 declared dead by the Israeli army. Hamas also holds the body of an Israeli soldier killed in a previous war in Gaza, in 2014.
Iranian nuclear: 'the most dangerous weapon'
Israeli Foreign Minister also stated that Iran should not be allowed to acquire "the most dangerous weapon in the world," as Washington and Tehran discuss the Iranian nuclear program.
"The most dangerous regime must not under any circumstances obtain the world's most dangerous weapon. Its uranium enrichment facilities must be dismantled," Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, as a fourth round of talks is held in Oman between the United States and Iran.