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Both Israeli Arab and rightist political leaders blasted the speech as political spin, while President Shimon Peres praised it as "strengthening Israel's international position and opening the door to direct peace negotiations." "The Prime Minister's speech was a true and courageous speech that referred to the main issue - the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel, the state of the Jewish People," said Peres.

MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) accused Netanyahu of violating his own promises and said the nationalist camp could no longer support his policies. "Today the prime minister lost the leadership of the nationalist camp by not only transgressing his own red lines, but by converting from his own religion," said Eldad of Netanyahu's declaration that he would accept the creation of a Palestinian state so long as the international community could guarantee it remains demilitarized. "With the expression 'demilitarized Palestinian state,' Netanyahu is trying to eat a pig butchered in a kosher way," he added. "There is no such thing as a demilitarized state, Netanyahu knows very well that no political force on earth can prevent a country from arming itself or signing military treaties like any other country."

MK Zevulun Orlev, of the Jewish Home party, said that the policy represented a drastic change in stance and was an affront to the coalition agreement.