Netanyahu opposes Palestinian state, Israeli minister saysFebruary 13, 2017 - 18:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a Palestinian state, a senior Israeli cabinet member said on Monday, February 13, but left it unclear whether the prime minister would say that publicly in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington this week, Reuters reports. Netanyahu has never explicitly abandoned his conditional support for a future Palestine, and his spokesman did not respond immediately to a request to comment on Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan's remarks. Erdan belongs to Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, whose leading members have often espoused a harder line than the prime minister himself. "I think all members of the security cabinet, and foremost the prime minister, oppose a Palestinian state," Erdan told Army Radio after the forum met on Sunday on the eve of Netanyahu's departure for Washington for talks with Trump on Wednesday. "No one thinks in the next few years that a Palestinian state is something that, God forbid, might or should happen," he said in the interview. But asked if Netanyahu would voice opposition to statehood on camera when he meets Trump, Erdan said: "The prime minister has to weigh things according to what he feels in the meeting and the positions he encounters there. No one knows what the positions of the president and his staff are." Palestinians seek to establish a state in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel captured those areas in a 1967 war and pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |