Netanyahu claims success in preventing Palestinian state "despite pressure"

During an incursion into the West Bank settlement of Ofra to mark its 50th anniversary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that he has fulfilled his long-standing promise to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Recalling a visit to the settlement 25 years ago, Netanyahu said, “We would do everything to ensure our continued hold on the Land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to thwart the attempts that existed then, and unfortunately still exist, to try to uproot us from here. Thank God, what I promised, we kept.”

Netanyahu emphasized the pressures 'Israel' faced over the years, noting, “Pressures from home, pressures from abroad, a series of American presidents who wanted to uproot us and to establish a Palestinian state here. We stood firm together. We upheld the promise of the generations.”