Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed Western countries’ plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month, warning on Sunday that such moves will push Israel to take reciprocal measures that he did not specify.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Sa’ar emphasized the importance of “dialogue” with Europe on regional issues, though he also decried an “anti-Israeli obsession wave in Europe today.”
And he reiterated the Israeli position that unilateral recognition of Palestine by Western countries “will be a present for Hamas,” following the terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
“It will push Israel also to have unilateral decisions, and that would be a grave mistake,” Sa’ar warned, urging “responsible states in Europe, including Denmark,” to push against the move.
“We still have time to prevent it,” he said, saying recognition of a State of Palestine “will not bring us closer to peace or security” and “will destabilize the region.”
Sa’ar remained vague over whether Israel plans to annex parts of the West Bank in response to recognition of a Palestinian state. He called recognition “a tremendous mistake,” saying Palestinian statehood has long been seen as one of the final status agreement issues to be determined in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
“You cannot disconnect statehood from peace, because if you do that, it will make it even harder to reach peace. A peace agreement in the future can happen only in a bilateral context,” Sa’ar argued.
Several Western countries have announced plans to recognize a State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly later this month, including France, the UK, Australia, Canada and, most recently, Belgium. Denmark has thus far refrained from doing so.
Israel and the United States have previously lambasted recognition of Palestine as a “reward for terror” in the wake of the October 7 onslaught.
In the Q&A portion of the press conference, Sa’ar declined to directly answer whether Israel plans to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, but said the prospect is under discussion.
“We are having discussions on this issue with [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu],” Sa’ar said, adding, “There will be a decision. I think I don’t have to elaborate.”
He said that he had discussed the matter with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Washington last month, saying, “If there will be any news, I’m sure it will be declared.”
On Friday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee appeared to signal that Washington has not come out against a potential Israeli decision to apply sovereignty in the West Bank. “The US has never asked Israel to not apply sovereignty,” Huckabee said, according to a post on X by a reporter from Channel 14. Huckabee later confirmed the quote.
Last week, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the annexation of some 82 percent of the West Bank as a way to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state” in response to the various Western countries’ plans to recognize a State of Palestine.
Hebrew media reported that Netanyahu had been set to discuss annexation with senior ministers on Thursday. But the discussion was scuttled following the United Arab Emirates’ public warning that such a move was a “red line” that would “end the vision of regional integration.”
According to a Saturday report, Netanyahu was caught off guard by the UAE’s stark warning, and has since largely taken the issue off the agenda.
Most of the international community considers Israel’s presence in the West Bank, which it has controlled since conquering the territory in the 1967 Six Day War, a violation of international law. A notable exception has been the United States during the two terms of US President Donald Trump.
At the joint press conference, Sa’ar and the Danish foreign minister presented clashing views on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. They likewise differed on the issue of transferring medical patients out of the territory.
Sa’ar said there had been progress on the enclave’s humanitarian crisis, saying there has been “a big change on the ground.”
“It’s not something that you can find in Western media, but the facts are [that] we fulfilled all our understandings with the [European Union] on the matter,” he continued, referring to agreements Israel reached with Brussels in July on increasing the flow of aid into the Strip.
“More than that, after we also started with the humanitarian corridors policy and airdrops, huge quantities entered the Gaza Strip, and that was reflected in the dramatic decline of the price of products. Therefore, the situation today is totally different from what it was a few months ago,” Sa’ar said.
He went on, “There is an anti-Israeli obsession wave in Europe today. Europe faces security and strategic challenges. I believe that Europe needs Israel no less than Israel needs Europe. A constructive dialogue cannot be based on threats and sanctions.”
Sa’ar added that he and his Danish counterpart agreed Sunday morning to cooperate on humanitarian issues, including medical evacuations, “to see what we can do together.”
Rasmussen, however, appeared to downplay the progress Jerusalem has made on humanitarian issues. “We do not agree on any major breakthrough,” he said, explaining that he “reiterated Denmark’s offer to help assist with the treatment of patients from Gaza in East Jerusalem or the West Bank.”
He accused Israel of not being “open for giving these patients access.”
“It would, of course, have been much easier if you would allow transport of the patients from Gaza to East Jerusalem, but I can’t force you to do that, even though it could save many lives,” said the Danish foreign minister.
“Having said that, I’m pleased that we at least agreed that we will now ask a joint team to look into what could be done alternatively, for instance, by investments in Gaza,” he said. “We should explore that and we should work closely together because we stand ready with personnel, with money and equipment.”
Rasmussen, a former Danish premier, noted that Israel’s dialogue with the EU in July led to improvements but said Denmark is still “extremely concerned about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza,” repeating calls for Israel “to stop the military offensive in Gaza, to ensure immediate and unhindered humanitarian assistance.”
He noted that Denmark, as chair of the EU for the second half of the year, is discussing the issue with its European partners.
Pressed by foreign media on why Israel won’t allow medical evacuations to the West Bank or East Jerusalem, Sa’ar responded: “It’s a war, and we have our security concerns. I can ask why Copenhagen doesn’t want to get these patients as well.”
“But we agreed to look into whether we can do it with some Arab states, and we will work constructively to see whether we have solutions that can be acceptable. We are looking forward to working together on that, not only on this medical evacuation, but on anything connected to the humanitarian situation. We are open to work together with Denmark and with the EU,” Sa’ar said.
The war in Gaza began with the October 7, 2023, attack, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 64,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 460.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including the bodies of at least 26 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.