Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the invasion of the Rafah area, where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge, is “necessary” to achieve the Israeli goals of the devastating war that it has been waging on the Gaza Strip for 159 days, considering that “unilaterally recognizing the Palestinian state will be considered an achievement for the Hamas movement.” 

Netanyahu's statements came during a meeting he had earlier today, Wednesday, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Israeli Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by Netanyahu's office. Note that this is the fourth meeting held between Netanyahu and Rutte since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The Israeli statement stated that “Netanyahu stressed to his Dutch counterpart that the entry of the Israeli army into Rafah constitutes a necessary step to achieve the goals of the war, and that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state will be considered an achievement for Hamas,” and these are the same messages that Netanyahu began to focus on in the latter’s statements, and summarize the differences with the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The statement added, "The two sides discussed the issue of humanitarian aid, with Netanyahu calling on the Dutch Prime Minister to join the sea corridor initiative." Netanyahu stressed that Israel is determined to "replace UNRWA in the Gaza Strip without compromising the provision of aid," according to his claims, and thanked Rutte for freezing Dutch funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.