New Delhi

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he has informed the United States that he does not support the establishment of a state of Palestine after the end of the ongoing war in Gaza. Netanyahu's comments came amid the ongoing maritime confrontation between the US and Yemen-based Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, with the latter consistently ramping up attacks on international merchant ships in purported solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 

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Netanyahu on Thursday (Jan 18) vowed in a press conference that the war in Gaza will continue "until complete victory", and added that it could take "many more months".

The establishment of a state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel has been a widely accepted solution to the territorial dispute between Israelis and Palestinians in West Asia. 

It forms an essential part of the two-state solution, the proposed framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing two states for two peoples: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people. 

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Also watch | Israel-Hamas war: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says he rejects creation of a Palestinian state

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Israel's allies, such as the United States under President Joe Biden, have urged the revival of a "two-state solution" after the eruption of war in Gaza on October 7 when Hamas militants launched an offensive in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages. 

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Houthis launch anti-ship ballistic missiles amid Netanyahu's denouncement of Palestine

With the Israel-Hamas war well beyond its 100th day, nearly 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, as per the Hamas-run health ministry. The tensions have spread well beyond the shores of the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels jumping into the conflict by attacking the international merchant ships in the Red Sea. The US is now directly attacking Houthi targets in Yemen and the maritime region around Bab-al Mandeb, a strategic chokepoint.

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On Friday (Jan 19), the United States said that Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US-owned tanker ship that hit the water near the vessel but caused no injuries or damage.

An official readout said that two anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched by Houthis on Jan 18 (at 9 PM, local time) at M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, US-owned and Greek-operated ship. 

"The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship. The ship has continued underway."

On Thursday (Jan 18), Netanyahu also said that Israel must have security control over all land west of the River Jordan which is supposed to include the territory of a future Palestinian state. 

Also read | Red Sea ship attacks: Inside disrupted shipping route through West Asia's 'gate of tears'

"This is a necessary condition, and it conflicts with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What to do? I tell this truth to our American friends, and I also stopped the attempt to impose a reality on us that would harm Israel's security," he said.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said his government would not stop working towards a two-state solution, adding there would be "no reoccupation of Gaza".

(With inputs from agencies)