Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday that, during a phone conversation the previous day, he informed US President Joe Biden that he rejected Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip.
For the first time in almost a month, the two leaders spoke over the phone on Friday. After the call, Biden expressed his belief that Netanyahu may still consent to some sort of Palestinian state.
According to a statement released by Netanyahu’s office on Saturday, “Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy in his conversation with President Biden that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.”
Netanyahu stated on Thursday that Israel must maintain “security control over all the territory west of the (River) Jordan” and opposed Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
Following the call on Friday, Biden had stated that there was a chance Netanyahu would adopt a two-state solution, which has been viewed by diplomats for many years as the most effective means of achieving Middle East peace.
Two-state solutions come in several varieties. After a White House event, Biden told reporters, “There are a number of countries that are members of the UN that… don’t have their own militaries.”
On Saturday, a top Hamas official disregarded Biden’s remarks regarding the likelihood that Israel would consent to the creation of a Palestinian state
Izzat al-Rishq, a political bureau member of the Islamist group, stated in a statement that “our people are not fooled by the illusion that Biden is preaching about a state of Palestine and its characteristics.”
“Biden is fully complicit in the genocide, and our people have no hope for a positive outcome from him.”
Following the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas, Netanyahu has vowed to destroy the organization and demilitarize Gaza. He is also becoming more and more resistive to US pressure to come up with a plan that incorporates Palestinian statehood in any form.
An AFP count based on official numbers indicates that 1,140 persons were killed as a result of Hamas’s strike, the majority of them were civilians.
Israel has been killing at least 24,927 people with its unrelenting air and ground onslaught.
According to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel has been carrying out a ceaseless air and ground offensive that has killed at least 24,927 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children.