Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks to the media as he arrives at the 5th EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has dismissed mounting global pressure to end the war in Gaza and accept the creation of a Palestinian state, saying Israel would not “commit suicide” to appease countries that have “lost control over their own streets.”

“We are witnessing a distorted campaign of international pressure against Israel over recent days,” Saar said during a special press conference on Tuesday.

“This campaign fuels the antisemitism wave we are witnessing,” he continued, referring to the alarming rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes around the world since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel will not be the Czechoslovakia of the 21st century. We won’t sacrifice our own existence for the sake of the appeasement countries.

My statement at a press conference this morning >> pic.twitter.com/NASGGZ9lvG

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 29, 2025

Last week, foreign ministers from over 25 countries called for an end to the war in Gaza, citing growing concerns over Israel’s new aid distribution model, which they claimed has fueled “instability.”

These latest international diplomatic efforts to curb Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian terror group Hamas come as France announced it will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September — part of its “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

The decision came after Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state last year, claiming that such a move would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region. Following France’s announcement, Germany said it was not planning to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term, and Italy argued that recognition must occur simultaneously with the recognition of Israel by the new entity. However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday that Britain will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza

France is now urging other nations to join its initiative.

“When they demand an end to this war, what do they really mean? Ending the war while Hamas remains in power in Gaza. That would be a tragedy for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Saar said during the press conference. “The French Foreign Minister said in New York yesterday that Europe must pressure Israel to accept a two-state solution. Establishing a Palestinian state today is establishing a Hamas state, a jihadi state.”

As ceasefire negotiations between the Jewish state and the Iran-backed terror group continue to stall, Israel faces mounting international criticism, with many accusing it of causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.

However, Israeli officials have dismissed these claims as inaccurate, politically motivated, and disconnected from reality.

Israel has also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.

At the press conference, Saar emphasized that this international pressure campaign “will not lead Israel to commit suicide.”

“We won’t allow a jihadist terror state in the heart of our ancient homeland,” he said. “We won’t give up our basic interest for the sake of internal politics in certain countries that have lost control over their own streets. But still they arrogantly presume to decide what’s good for our security.”

Saar also argued that the pressure on Israel was backfiring, causing Hamas to “harden its position” in the ceasefire negotiations. He maintained that such an international campaign should be directed solely at Hamas.

The top Israeli diplomat went on to dismiss recent accusations of starvation in Gaza as “false propaganda” spread by the media.

“If we are speaking about the last two months, more than 5,000 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip,” he said, adding that Israel opened additional humanitarian corridors on Sunday.

“We are working very hard under very complicated circumstances, from the beginning of the war until this day, in order to facilitate the entrance of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,” Saar continued.

Israeli officials have argued they have gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s widely acknowledged military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.