Over the weekend, seemingly contradictory statements have emerged from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party with regard to the two-state compromise – including the contradiction between allegedly not wanting to rule over Palestinians and enforcing the concept of a demilitarised hypothetical Palestinian state. These statements departed from the 2009 Bar Ilan speech, in which Netanyahu fabricated historical occurrences to fit his colonisation narrative.

A statement attributed to Netanyahu and publicised by Likud read: “The prime minister has announced to the public that the Bar Ilan speech is null and void. Netanyahu’s entire political biography is a struggle against a Palestinian state.” On 6 January, Netanyahu had accused Palestinians of rendering the Bar Ilan speech “emptied of any relevance” due to the belated decision to seek recourse at the International Criminal Court.

According to Al Jazeera, Netanyahu has denied making such a statement, with the PM’s office declaring that Netanyahu’s policy states that “under current conditions in the Middle East any land that is handed over would be grabbed by Islamic extremists.”

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Sa’eb Erekat declared that, “Netanyahu’s policies are a major threat to peace and stability in the region,” adding that settlements always constituted a priority for Israel. While Erekat’s comments may have been sought as the means to obtain an apparently opposing view, negotiations have proven the allegiances between Israel and the PA, including the PA’s willingness to compromise upon settlement expansion, thus collaborating with the settler-colonial state in confiscating Palestinian land.

– Read more: Two-state Relevant Only in Terms of Facilitating Israel’s Colonization Process – Middle East Monitor