Israeli opposition leader says not a single country will unilaterally recognise Palestinians

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of inventing a ‘threat that does not exist’ during a Knesset session on Wednesday. Lapid said he does not believe that there was any intent for the US to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. ‘As you know, my connections with the Americans are better than yours, so I checked. There’s no such thing. You invented a threat that doesn’t exist. What are we talking about? There is not one official in the world that suggested unilateral recognition of the Palestinians,’ he said. Lapid said the debate brought forward by Netanyahu was a distraction so the Knesset would not discuss disputed legislation backed by the government. The Knesset voted on Wednesday to back Netanyahu’s declaration opposing any ‘unilateral’ recognition of a Palestinian state, as international calls increase for efforts to reach a two-state solution.