Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, reflecting the deepening decline in support for a two-state solution among wider Israeli society.
Of the 120-member legislative body, 68 voted in support of the resolution, which says a Palestinian state would "pose an existential danger to the State of Israel." Nine members opposed it, while others did not vote.
The vote came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to travel to the United States to address a joint session of Congress and meet with President Joe Biden, who has been vocal in pushing for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It is unclear whether Biden's recent Covid-19 diagnosis will affect plans for the meeting. But the outcome of Thursday's vote is likely to deepen concerns among Democrats expected to attend Netanyahu's speech to Congress next Wednesday, said Bilal Y. Saab, a former U.S. Defense Department official and head of the U.S.-Middle East practice of Trends Research and Advisory, a consulting firm based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
"The timing of it is a little bit puzzling," Saab said. "This will clearly embarrass the president here and put him in a very difficult position with respect to his own party, the Democrats."
He said the vote could also signal that Israeli lawmakers have confidence that "the next president is going to be Donald Trump" and that they're willing to "put all their eggs in one basket, which is the Republican Party."
Meanwhile, as the Biden administration looks to propel efforts to negotiate a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site Thursday to pray for the return of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a move that threatened to raise tensions in the region.
The visit drew a swift response from Hamas, which said it condemned the move as a "dangerous provocation and escalation."
