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"Do not threaten Israel with sanctions" as it will continue to build a "Jewish state" on the ground, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Friday, defying international law and rebuffing a call by French President Emmanuel Macron for establishing a Palestinian state.

In open defiance of international law, Katz claimed that world powers may recognize a Palestinian state "on paper."

Katz made the remarks during a visit to Sa-Nur, an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank that the Tel Aviv government recently decided to officially designate as a settlement for illegal Israeli settlers.

In a direct message, Defense Minister Israel Katz targets French President Macron and European allies, saying: "They will recognize a Palestinian state on paper, while we will build the Jewish Israeli state on the ground."

He also dismissed the potential international consequences, saying: “Don’t threaten us with sanctions. You will not make us bow. The State of Israel will not kneel before threats.”

His comments came hours after President Macron stated that recognizing the State of Palestine is a “moral duty,” and reiterated that France may move toward official recognition during an upcoming international conference focused on the two-state solution.

Earlier this week, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Security Cabinet had secretly approved the establishment of 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In response, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now issued a statement Thursday, revealing that 12 of the newly approved settlements were previously unauthorized outposts and farming sites established in recent years.

According to Peace Now, there are currently 156 illegal settlements and 224 outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with over 736,000 illegal Israeli settlers living on occupied Palestinian land.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.