Netanyahu vows to block Palestinian state as polls put his bloc short of majority

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Saturday to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza or the occupied West Bank for as long as he remains in office, Anadolu reports.

His remarks came in response to Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, who said Palestine already exists as a state and is recognized by most of the world.

Abbas urged Israel and the US to recognize Palestine as well. “As long as I am prime minister, there will be no Palestinian state controlled by Iran, neither in Gaza nor in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said, using the biblical term for the occupied territory.

Speaking at his party’s general conference in the Arab city of Tayibe earlier […]