Pro-Palestinian protests at US universities threaten Israel's existence, Knesset committee hears

A committee of the Israeli parliament heard on Tuesday that pro-Palestinian demonstrations at US universities threaten Israel's existence.

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, spoke at a meeting of the Knesset's Immigration and Absorption Committee.

He said pro-Palestinian demonstrations at US colleges present a "direct threat to the existence of the state of Israel", the Jewish News Syndicate reported.

"Israel must be vigilant and keep its eyes open," he said.

"We cannot accept statements like 'Israel is an apartheid state' or 'Israel is an occupying state', which have persisted since [former Palestinian President Yasser] Arafat's speech in 1974 at the UN General Assembly."

This statement comes as pro-Palestinian encampments and protests have spread across the US and globally, from the UK to France and Australia to Lebanon.

Israel's seven-month war on Gaza has been met with widespread grassroots opposition amid an escalating death toll among Palestinian civilians.

The Israeli military offensive has so far killed more than 34,900 people, according to the territory's health ministry and left over 78,000 others wounded.

Gaza's infrastructure has been devastated, with ambulances, hospitals, and residential buildings coming under attack.

Although negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire are ongoing, there has been no respite for the millions of civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip since a one-week truce that began in late November.