In December 2022, [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] returned as Prime Minister of Israel, forming the most right-wing government in Israel's history. Netanyahu's coalition partners rejected the two-state solution.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's most right-wing government agreed under Benjamin Netanyahu |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63942616 |date=21 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's Netanyahu says deal agreed with far-right to form gov't |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/22/israels-netanyahu-says-deal-agreed-with-far-right-to-form-govt |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In February 2023, Netanyahu said he would be willing to grant Palestinians autonomy but not sovereignty, and in any future deal Israel would maintain full security control of the West Bank.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Hadas |title=Netanyahu outlines vision for two-state solution – without Palestinian sovereignty |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/01/middleeast/netanyahu-palestinian-sovereignty-mime-intl/index.html |work=CNN |date=1 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In June 2023, Netanyahu told members of the Knesset that Israel must block the creation of a Palestinian state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu's call to block creation of Palestinian state sparks fury, condemnation |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2328446/middle-east |work=Arab News |date=26 June 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Palestinians furious over Netanyahu claims that Israel must 'crush' statehood ambitions |url=https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-748435 |work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=1 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
Later in 2023, despite Israeli PM Netanyahu's statement denying the creation of a Palestinian state as a condition for a normalization with Saudi Arabia,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaye |first1=Dalia Dassa |title=The Case Against an Israeli-Saudi Deal |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/case-against-israeli-saudi-deal |work=Foreign Affairs |date=17 August 2023 |quote=In an early August interview with Bloomberg, Netanyahu...called the Palestinian issue no more than a “checkbox” and reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Israel-Saudi peace can end all hope for Palestinian statehood – opinion |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-754207 |work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=10 August 2023 |language=en |quote=To which [Palestinian state] Bibi emphatically says, 'No, never.' Many in Israel and elsewhere are confident that the Saudis aren’t really serious about Palestinian statehood and are unwilling to sacrifice their own interests for it.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu: Normalisation with Saudi not linked to creation of Palestinian state |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230808-netanyahu-normalisation-with-saudi-not-linked-to-creation-of-palestinian-state/ |publisher=[[Middle East Monitor]] |date=August 8, 2023}}</ref> Saudi Arabian crown prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]] said normalization with Israel was "for the first time real".<ref>{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Kingsley |first1=Patrick |last2=Kershner |first2=Isabel |date=7 October 2023 |title=Israel-Gaza Conflict: Gaza and Israel on War Footing After Militants Launch Surprise Assaults |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/07/world/israel-gaza-attack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007075901/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/07/world/israel-gaza-attack |archive-date=7 October 2023 |access-date=7 October 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> This was an apparent reversal of Saudi policy, articulated in the [[2002 Arab Peace Initiative]], when Saudi Arabia had offered Israel normalization with the whole Arab world if Israel allows the creation of a Palestinian state.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ackerman |first1=Spencer |author1-link=Spencer Ackerman |title=A Mideast Deal Signed in Blood |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-us-saudi-arabia-deal-palestine-gaza/ |publisher=[[The Nation]] |date=10 October 2023 |quote=It is not lost on anyone, least of all the Palestinians, that in 2002, then–Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz conditioned recognition for Israel on Palestinian statehood. Now–Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has removed that condition.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawati |first1=Abbas Al |title=Mideast and US leaders tried to sweep the Palestinian issue under the rug. That may not work anymore |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/11/middleeast/israel-palestine-us-saudi-normalization-mime-intl/index.html |work=CNN |publisher=[[CNN News]] |date=11 October 2023 |language=en |quote=[MBS] effectively abandoning a two-decade-old Saudi pledge to only make peace with Israel after it fully withdraws from land it occupies.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Haq |first1=Sana Noor |title=Netanyahu says Israel nears normalization deal with Saudi Arabia but refuses to outline concessions to Palestinians |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/middleeast/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-cnn-interview-intl/index.html |work=CNN |date=22 September 2023 |language=en |quote=[bin Salman] stopped short of calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, which has been Riyadh’s official stance for two decades.}}</ref><ref name="Magid-2023">{{cite news |last1=Magid |first1=Jacob |title=Saudis putting aside Arab Peace Initiative amid Israel normalization talks – officials |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudis-putting-aside-arab-peace-initiative-amid-israel-normalization-talks-officials/ |date=26 September 2023}}</ref> Israeli<ref name="Magid-2023" /> and other officials involved in the negotiations confirmed that the Saudis were considering normalization with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nakhoul |first1=Samia |title=Exclusive: US-Saudi defence pact tied to Israel deal, Palestinian demands put aside |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us-saudi-defence-pact-tied-israel-deal-palestinian-demands-put-aside-2023-09-29/ |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=September 29, 2023}}</ref> Many Palestinians worried that Israeli-Saudi normalization would cost them their last significant leverage for Palestinian statehood.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shehada |first1=Muhammad |title=For the Palestinians, Israeli-Saudi normalization would be disastrous |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-08-14/ty-article-opinion/.premium/for-the-palestinians-israeli-saudi-normalization-would-be-disastrous/00000189-f364-d975-a9cf-fb77780c0000 |work=Haaretz |date=14 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
In October 2023, [[Hamas]] launched an attack on Israel. Numerous sources identified the lack of a Palestinian state as a cause of the war.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Matar |first1=Haggai |date=7 October 2023 |title=Gaza's shock attack has terrified Israelis. It should also unveil the context |url=https://www.972mag.com/gaza-attack-context-israelis/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231181619/https://www.972mag.com/gaza-attack-context-israelis/ |archive-date=31 December 2023 |access-date=31 December 2023 |magazine=[[+972 Magazine]] |publisher=+972 Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Sforza|first1=Lauren|date=9 October 2023|title=Tlaib, Bush criticized by Democrats over statements calling for end to Israel support|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4245770-tlaib-bush-criticized-by-democrats-over-statements-calling-for-end-to-israel-support/|access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite news||title=John Mearsheimer: Israel is choosing 'apartheid' or 'ethnic cleansing'|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-bottom-line/2023/12/16/john-mearsheimer-israel-is-choosing-apartheid-or-ethnic-cleansing|access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Schenker |first1=Hillel |date=12 October 2023 |title=The Catastrophe of October 7. Why Did It Happen? |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-gaza-hamas-war-netanyahu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231181618/https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-gaza-hamas-war-netanyahu/ |archive-date=31 December 2023 |access-date=31 December 2023 |magazine=[[The Nation]]}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Barghouti|first1=Mariam|title=On October 7, Gaza broke out of prison|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/14/on-october-7-gaza-broke-out-of-prison|access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref> The [[Associated Press]] wrote that Palestinians are "in despair over a never-ending occupation in the West Bank and suffocating blockade of Gaza".<ref>{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Federman|first1=Josef|last2=Adwan|first2=Issam|date=7 October 2023|title=Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation|work=[[AP News]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2|url-status=live|access-date=4 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007073124/https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2|archive-date=7 October 2023}}</ref> After [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip|Netanyahu invaded Gaza]], he once again reiterated his opposition to the existence of a Palestinian state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu says he told U.S. that he opposes Palestinian state in any postwar scenario |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/01/19/1225574007/netanyahu-says-he-told-u-s-that-he-opposes-palestinian-state-in-any-postwar-scen}}</ref>
