Israel on Sunday,  called for bipartisan support  from the United States against the establishment of a Palestinian state, which it said would be a reward for Hamas and its backer Iran.

European Union members including Ireland,Spain, Slovenia and Malta have said they could recognise a Palestinian state this month, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, who met top House Republican Elise Stefanik earlier, said if a Palestinian state was established, Iran would use it as a base to “work towards the destruction of Israel”.

Over two dozen Palestinians were killed in the enclave, most of them in a strike on a house in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials and Hamas.He told Stefanik the U.S. must lead a resolution at the International Energy Agency’s council next month to promote further sanctions against Iran to stop it obtaining nuclear weapons and supporting groups like Hamas.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Stefanik has played a key role in trying to stem the protests that have broken out across U.S. college campuses against Israel’s war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians’ right to self-determination