Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in 2019. [Getty]
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened France and the UK that Israel may seize parts of the occupied West Bank if they recognise a Palestinian state, according to Haaretz.
Dermer – who serves as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-hand man in Washington and leads the Gaza ceasefire negotiation team – told the French foreign minister that Israel could respond to the move by annexing parts of Area C and legalising settler outposts, a foreign diplomat told the Israeli newspaper.
The minister is understood to have made similar threats to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has also made public statements vowing to take “unilateral actions” but refrained from issuing specific threats.
The UK and France have discussed recognising Palestine as soon as next month, when a UN conference on the two-state solution takes place in New York.
France, which is leading the summit with Saudi Arabia, has indicated that it could use the moment to recognise Palestinian statehood, but says it expects Arab countries to normalise with Israel in return.
Lammy has spoken in support of recognition, though, says he will only make the move when he thinks it will have a tangible impact on the political situation.
The countries convening the conference have identified three priorities, namely Palestinian recognition and Israeli-Arab normalisation, security assurances for Palestinians and Israelis, and reforming the Palestinian Authority, a French diplomat told Haaretz.
The leaders of the two countries, together with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, last week condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza, and threatened to take “concrete actions” if it expands its military assault and refuses to lift the siege.
The UK has also frozen trade negotiations and imposed sanctions on a number of illegal settler groups.
They were also among 21 countries to sign a statement demanding an immediate end to the blockade.
Almost 150 countries around the world have recognised Palestine, though most Western powers have not, including the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan.
Germany’s foreign minister recently warned against what he described as the “premature” recognition of a Palestinian state during a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart.
Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition in May 2024, followed by Slovenia the following month.