The Israeli prime minister has openly contradicted the US president’s insistence on Palestinian statehood<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he refuses to compromise with Washington on a potential two-state solution for post-war Gaza \u2013 despite US President Joe Biden\u2019s insistence that the pair were in agreement, after speaking by telephone for the first time in a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area west of Jordan – and this is contrary to a Palestinian state,\u201d Netanyahu wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, reiterating his often-stated position on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden claimed after the phone conversation on Friday that a two-state solution was not impossible under Israel’s current government, insisting there were multiple types of solutions that could fit the bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Netanyahu has repeatedly and strenuously argued against any form of independent Palestinian government and reminded an audience earlier this week that he had been working for \u201c30 years\u201d to prevent the development of a Palestinian state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the future, the state of Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea. This is what happens when you have sovereignty,\u201d the prime minister told reporters during a televised press conference, referring to the Jordan River and the Red Sea – boundaries that many Palestinians consider to be the borders of their own rightful state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netanyahu even appeared to flaunt his disagreement with Israel\u2019s allies in Washington, noting that he had \u201ctold this truth to our friends, the Americans,\u201d stopping what he described as \u201cthe attempt to impose on us a reality that will jeopardize us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA prime minister in Israel has to be able to say no, even to the best of friends,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US continues to defend Israel in the face of growing allegations from the international community of war crimes in Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces have killed over 25,000 Palestinians since October 7, the majority of them women and children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, some senior American officials have grown more vocal regarding their desire for a two-state solution \u2013 long heralded by the UN and others as the only potentially peaceful outcome for the region \u2013 even in the face of Israeli opposition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Wednesday that some form of Palestinian self-governance was necessary for Israel to \u201cget genuine security.\u201d Earlier this month, he claimed Arab leaders were eager to help rebuild Gaza \u201cthrough a regional approach that includes a pathway to a Palestinian state.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington has called for the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank, to assume control of Gaza after Hamas is defeated, though Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to keep the war he declared following Hamas\u2019 October 7 incursion going into 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n