Israel votes to oppose Palestinian state

GAZA:

The Israeli parliament voted Thursday to oppose a Palestinian state as an “existential threat”, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers the army had Hamas “by the throat”.

The vote, which drew swift criticism from the Palestinian leadership and the international community, is largely symbolic but laid down a marker ahead of a planned address by Netanyahu to the US Congress next Wednesday.

The veteran hawk has shown little interest in efforts by the US administration to broker a truce and hostage release deal for Gaza, saying that “absolute victory” over Hamas is within reach and vowing to ramp up the military pressure.