Shtayyeh: Palestinians outnumber Israelis for the first time since 1948

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh warned that Israel faces "demographic death" if the decades-long conflict between the two peoples is not resolved under the two-state model, as it will not be able to exist as a democratic country.

"Israel today faces a major challenge: either a two-state solution or demographic death," Shtayyeh said at a meeting of the Socialist International in Ramallah, West Bank, which brings together socialist parties worldwide, world agencies reported, as conveyed by Al Jazeera Balkans.

He explained that between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea live 6.8 million Palestinians, three million in the West Bank, two million in the Gaza Strip, and 1.8 million in Israel, Beta reported.

There are 6.6 million Israelis, meaning there are 200,000 more Palestinians, which is happening for the first time since 1948, when Israel was created.

"Either a two-state solution or demographic death, or a two-state solution or there will be no democratic or Jewish state, or a two-state solution or a racist regime, or a two-state solution or there will be no peace," Shtayyeh said.

The Palestinian leadership based in Ramallah, including President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, has long supported resolving the conflict under the two-state model, while Hamas, which governs the other Palestinian territory, the Gaza Strip, calls for the destruction of Israel in its charter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously stated that he supports two states in principle, but has not reiterated this in recent years.

On the contrary, he said that there will be no Palestinian state as long as he is in power and expressed support for Israel's expansion into parts of the West Bank, Israeli media recalled.

In addition, many ministers in Netanyahu's government have expressed strong opposition to the two-state solution.