Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a rare press conference with foreign journalists on Sunday night, seeking to defend Israel’s decision to fully occupy the Gaza Strip as international condemnation mounts.
Netanyahu insisted that Israel’s objective was not to occupy Gaza but to “free it from Hamas.” He reiterated long-standing Israeli goals such as the militant group’s disarmament but made headlines by explicitly rejecting the idea of the Palestinian Authority (PA) returning to govern Gaza after the war—a position he had not previously stated so directly.
The PA is recognized internationally as the legitimate governing authority of the Palestinian territories, including Gaza. Instead of PA leadership, Netanyahu proposed handing governance to a “consortium of Arab states,” though he did not identify which countries might participate or whether any have agreed.
Addressing humanitarian concerns, Netanyahu repeated Israel’s denial that it is causing starvation in Gaza. He claimed that widely circulated images of malnourished children depicted individuals with preexisting medical conditions—a narrative frequently echoed in pro-Israel media in recent weeks.
In a notable admission, Netanyahu conceded that Israel had lost the “propaganda war,” blaming the shift in global opinion on international media allegedly spreading “Hamas propaganda.” He also threatened legal action against The New York Times over a story about a starving child in Gaza.
Consistent with his political stance over the past four decades, Netanyahu dismissed the idea of Palestinian statehood as “absurd,” placing himself in opposition to the majority of UN member states, which officially recognize Palestine.
The press conference appeared aimed at shoring up Israel’s image ahead of next month’s UN General Assembly, where the United Kingdom, France, and other European nations are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state—a move that would further isolate Israel diplomatically, where it is increasingly having to rely solely on the United States for diplomatic support.