Uri Weltmann responds to Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely’s opposition to Palestinian statehood on Sky News
Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, was recently interviewed on Sky News. Asked about the possibility of a two-state settlement – an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel – Hotovely stated her absolute opposition.
The following day, Rula Daood and Uri Weltmann from Standing Together appeared on Sky News. Here is Uri’s response to Hotovely’s remarks:
“I think Tzipi Hotovely is gravely mistaken. What failed on October 7th is not the prospect of a Palestinian state alongside Israel; that is not the paradigm that failed. What failed is Netanyahu’s paradigm, of preventing the creation of a Palestinian state, and maintaining the status quo.
“Netanyahu has crafted himself as the politician who wants to maintain status quo, to ‘manage the conflict’, to ignore the fact that there are millions of Palestinians under Israeli military rule, under occupation, devoid of citizenship, and devoid of sovereignty, and that this situation can go on indefinitely.
“What October 7th showed is that this situation cannot be maintained. The status quo cannot continue. A diplomatic resolution needs to be met in order to secure both independence for Palestinians, but also security and safety for Jewish Israelis. So rather than two states failing, what failed is the paradigm of preventing the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.”