Israeli ambassador to UK Tzipi Hotovely rejects two-state solution

Israel's ambassador to Britain said Thursday that Israel would not accept a two-state solution with the Palestinians after the war in Gaza ends.

The conflict, now in its third month, began after Hamas' unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people.

Israel began a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that has killed over 18,700 people, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry's latest toll.

Tzipi Hotovely told Sky News that she did not believe in the long-standing position of the UK government and the United Nations that an independent Palestinian state should be established.

"The answer is absolutely no," Hotovely said when pressed on the issue.

"Israel knows today, and the world should know now that the reason the Oslo Accords failed is because the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel."

The Oslo Accords, signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1993 aimed to bring "peaceful coexistence" to Israel and the Palestinians.

The agreement was based on UN resolutions that said the Palestinian people had the right to self-determination.

Analysts have noted that the rejection of a two-state solution reflects the views held by a broad spectrum of Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

BREAKING: Israeli ambassador @TzipiHotovely rejects the idea of a two-state solution

"The answer is absolutely no", she says.https://t.co/cjkJJFipKp

📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/9z0fMWSSui

— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 13, 2023

"Why are you obsessed with a formula (the two-state solution) that never worked, that created this radical people on the other side," Hotovely added.

She said the Palestinian Authority had still not condemned Hamas's attack.

"It's now two months after the war started. It's such a big problem."

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in response that he didn't agree with Hotovely's remarks.

"Our long standing position is that the two state solution remains the right outcome here," he told reporters.

Sunak said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his country "must take every available precaution to protect innocent civilian lives".