Israel warns against Palestinian statehood

 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened on Sunday to retaliate if Palestinians declare a unilateral state, warning that such a move would unravel existing agreements with Tel Aviv. Netanyahu’s comments came just hours after Palestinian officials said they were preparing to ask the United Nations to endorse an independent state to include the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Netanyahu urged the Palestinians to unconditionally resume the bilateral talks that broke off last December. The Palestinians, for their part, demand a halt to all Jewish settlement activity on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem as a precondition for their returning to the negotiating table.