Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot (Flash90)
MK Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF Chief of Staff and senior member of the center-left National Unity party, says that after the Hamas invasion of 2023, Palestinian statehood is no longer relevant.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
A senior Opposition lawmaker for the center-left National Unity party ruled out the establishment of a Palestinian state, arguing that the Gaza invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, buried Palestinian statehood.
On Saturday night, MK Gadi Eisenkot, the second ranking member of the National Unity Party, who served as Chief of staff of the Israeli military from 2015 to 2019, declared in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that the establishment of a Palestinian state is no longer relevant.
“I think a Palestinian state is not relevant after October 7,” Eisenkot responded, while adding that he also opposes the reestablishment of Jewish towns in the Gaza Strip.
“At the time of the [2005 Gaza] Disengagement, I commanded [IDF forces in] Judea and Samaria. We felt we had defeated suicide terror and given the government freedom to make decisions.
“We were soldiers, so I wasn’t directly involved,” he continued. “The [Gaza Disengagement] plan passed 59–40. The three key decision-makers in Israel — Netanyahu, Katz, and Hanegbi — all voted for it. So I ask: should we return settlements to Gaza? My answer is no. Nowhere in Gaza. Not even in the northern supportive settlements.
“As for a Palestinian state — I’ve never spoken in favor of one. I always speak for a strong, powerful Jewish and democratic state. From that, we derive our decisions.”
“A Palestinian state isn’t relevant after October 7,” he said. “We need to act measuredly, build from the bottom up — and certainly not talk about a state or prize after that murderous attack. Decisions must come from a position of strength, with time, not rushed — and definitely not discussed now.”
Eisenkot called on the Netanyahu government to set the return of the remaining 58 hostages as its top priority and to do “everything necessary” to make it happen.
Earlier this month, former defense minister MK Benny Gantz, who heads the National Unity party, also spoke out against Palestinian statehood.
“Anyone who talks about a Palestinian state or withdrawals is simply delusional,” Gantz said.
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