Netanyahu Vows to Prevent Creation of Palestinian State, if Reelected

Benjamin Netanyahu promised to keep blocking efforts to create a Palestinian state, if he wins the Israeli election on Tuesday.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered another pledge in his reelection campaign, this time to keep blocking efforts to create a Palestinian state in the event he wins on Tuesday.

"Anyone looking to establish a Palestinian state today is yielding to radical Islam. This reality has been created here in recent years. To ignore that [by the Left] is burying your head in the sand," Netanyahu said in an interview with the online edition of Israel's daily Maariv on Monday.

Asked whether that means there will be no Palestine if he is reelected, Netanyahu responded "indeed."

Earlier on Monday, the prime minister authorized the construction of housing units in East Jerusalem to widespread objection over its location, which obstructs the Palestinian territory's contiguity.

Netanyahu has ratcheted up his rhetoric ahead of Tuesday's early general elections, promising cabinet seats to rival party leaders and blaming sagging poll numbers on a concerted international effort to oust him.

Speaking at a pro-Netanyahu rally that gathered 40,000 in Tel Aviv on Sunday, the prime minister vowed "no concessions or withdrawals" of territories occupied by Israel and contested by Palestinians.

The latest polls suggest a tight race between Netanyahu's Likud party and the left-wing Zionist Union, with the rival leading Likud by four seats.