Media outlets that reported on Netanyahu's speech heavily focused on this statement because this phrase was originally used by Palestinians to demand a free Palestine from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Disingenuous and extremist supporters of Israel have wrongly argued that this statement is a call by Palestinians to genocide all Jewish people in Israel.
The statement is so controversial that when Palestinian American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) used the phrase, she was censured by Congress, with many Democrats joining Republicans in condemning her. For her part, Tlaib described the use of the phrase as an "aspirational call" for "peaceful coexistence" among Israelis and Palestinians in the entire region.
The Israeli government itself has previously pushed out statements that claim the statement "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," is only used by "those who call for the elimination of Israel" and the death of all Jews in Israel.
The Israeli government has even accused celebrities who use the statement of advocating for "throwing Jews into the sea," including Palestinian American models Bella and Gigi Hadid.
Now, these same supporters of Israel have remained quiet regarding Netanyahu's use of the phrase. (Related: The Palestinians were right all along: Netanyahu wants them completely expelled from the region.)
"This conflict is not about the lack of a State of Palestine but the existence of a Jewish state," said Netanyahu. "Every area we evacuate, we receive terrible terror … and therefore I clarify that, in any arrangement in the future, the State of Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea."
Biden administration reportedly pressuring Israel to accept Palestinian statehood after the war
Netanyahu's speech comes after the administration of President Joe Biden – which has unconditionally supported Israel's offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 25,000 people, over 10,000 of them children – has reportedly called on Netanyahu's government to scale back its offensive and its indiscriminate attacks on civilians and has pressured Israel to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state after the conclusion of the conflict.
This new Palestinian state would likely replace the Palestinian National Authority and would presumably include the entirety of Gaza and the West Bank, areas recognized as Palestinian territory under international law.
"This is what happens when you have sovereignty," said Netanyahu, who is directly challenging Biden and the American government's support for a two-state solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine. "I say to my American friends, stop trying to impose on us a reality that will jeopardize us. A prime minister of Israel has to be able to say 'no' even to the best of friends."
In a statement, Matthew Miller of the U.S. State Department reaffirmed that the Biden administration believes the only long-term peace solution to the conflict is for the establishment of a stable and peaceful State of Palestine alongside Israel.
"There is no way to solve [Israel's] long-term challenges to provide lasting security and there is no way to solve the short-term challenges of rebuilding Gaza and establishing governance in Gaza and providing security for Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state," Miller said.
Watch this clip of Netanyahu from the news conference wherein he called for Israel to control all of Palestine "from the river to the sea."
This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.
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