The US – Israel’s closest ally – has said the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority should be “revitalised”, having been ousted from the territory in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US calls for the development of a Palestinian state, as he vowed the offensive in Gaza would press ahead for many months.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a nationally televised news conference on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu<\/strong><\/a> struck a defiant tone, repeatedly saying that Israel would not halt its offensive until it achieves its goals of destroying the Hamas<\/strong><\/a> militant group and bringing home all remaining hostages in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory,” Mr Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It comes as Israel’s closest ally, the US, has urged the country to scale back the intensity of its devastating military offensive that has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians<\/strong><\/a>, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US<\/strong><\/a> has said the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, which governs certain zones in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, should be “revitalised” and returned to Gaza, having been ousted from the territory in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US has also called for steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on Wednesday, Antony Blinken<\/strong><\/a>, US secretary of state, said the two-state solution was the best way to protect Israel, unify moderate Arab countries and isolate Israel’s arch-enemy, Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without a “pathway to a Palestinian state” Israel would not “get genuine security”, he said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n