Expanding Middle East crisis: Israel calls for war before EU amid mounting criticism
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down this weekend on his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, again rejecting pressure from President Biden to agree to that path after the war in Gaza is over.
“My emphasis over the years has prevented the creation of a Palestinian state that would have posed an existential danger to Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement in Hebrew on Sunday. “As long as I am Prime Minister, I will continue to push for this strongly.”
The statement reiterated comments he made on social media the previous day, when he said in Hebrew that he “will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area west of the Jordan – and that is incompatible with State of Palestine.”
Mr Netanyahu's comments came after Mr Biden spoke with him on Friday about a two-state solution and raised the possibility of a disarmed Palestinian nation that would not threaten Israel's security. Mr. Biden has argued that establishing a Palestinian state is the only viable long-term solution to a conflict that has dragged on for decades, repeating a position taken by most American presidents and European leaders in recent history.
While there were no indications that Netanyahu would soften his tough opposition, which is popular with his fragile right-wing political coalition, Biden had expressed optimism that they could still reach an agreement.
“There are some types of two-state solutions,” the president told reporters at the White House just hours after Friday's call, the first in nearly a month amid tensions over the war. “There are a number of countries that are members of the UN and still do not have their own army. Number of states with restrictions.” He added, “And so I think there are ways this could work.”
On Sunday, Grant Shapps, the British defense minister, called Netanyahu's position “disappointing.”
“There is no other option,” Mr Shapps told Sky News in a television interview. “The whole world agrees that the two-state solution is the best way forward.”
António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, said that denying the statehood of the Palestinian people was “unacceptable”.
“The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all,” Mr Guterres said wrote on X, without referring to Mr Netanyahu.
The Biden administration and the Israeli government have sharp differences over how Gaza will be governed if the fighting ends. President Biden and his top diplomat, Antony J. Blinken, have urged Israeli officials to take steps toward the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.
Mr. Biden has suggested as much a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, could take over Gaza once Hamas is removed from power there. Mr Netanyahu has rejected the idea of authority returning to the enclave.
Despite support from the international community, a two-state approach still faces enormous obstacles, including declining support for it among Israeli and Palestinian populations, continued settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and a divided Palestinian leadership.
Two key partners in Netanyahu's coalition – Bezalel Smotrich, the Finance Minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the National Security Minister – are loyal opponents of a two-state solution. Some analysts have suggested that the two ministers and their parties would vote to dissolve the government if Mr Netanyahu took serious steps to promote the creation of a Palestinian state.
Analysts pointed out that Netanyahu's willingness to undermine his American counterpart was becoming routine.
“Humiliating Biden has become a daily occurrence for Netanyahu,” Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank, wrote on social media.
Pieter Bakker reporting contributed.