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.

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 Saturday, Abbas said his party was seeking peace between Israel and Palestine.

“The State of Palestine exists, and the world recognizes it,” Abbas said, calling on Washington and Tel Aviv to recognize it as well.

Netanyahu’s remarks came ahead of Knesset elections scheduled for Oct. 27, with opinion polls showing his Likud party and its coalition partners falling short of the 61 seats required to form a government.

Likud, which currently holds 32 seats, has fallen sharply in recent surveys, with a poll Friday putting it at 20 seats.

A Channel 13 poll published Aug. 19 projected Netanyahu’s Likud and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies at a combined 51 seats, 10 short of a parliamentary majority.