Benjamin Netanyahu, by rejecting a 15-point plan by a U.S.-led peace committee, said the Israeli army will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is truly disarmed. He also added that as long as Netanyahu is Israel’s prime minister, an independent Palestinian state will not be formed—neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank.

Meir Jaovandfar, an analyst of Israeli affairs, said that in the past Israel supported the formation of a Palestinian state, but the experience of withdrawing from Gaza and turning the region into a base for armed groups has changed the outlook of a large part of the society and of Israeli authorities. He added that from Israel’s perspective, this experience is one of the main reasons for opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state under current conditions.