Netanyahu Doubles Down on Opposition to Palestinian State After Call With Biden

Biden said it was 'not impossible' for a two-state solution under Netanyahu, but the Israeli leader rebuffed his comments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state after holding a phone call with President Biden on Friday, the first conversation between the two leaders in nearly a month.

After the phone call, Biden said the idea of a two-state solution being reached while Netanyahu was still in power was not impossible and suggested he might go for an arrangement where the Palestinian state wouldn’t have a military. But in subsequent statements, Netanyahu again made clear he was totally opposed to the idea of a Palestinian state.

“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area in the west of Jordan – and this is contrary to a Palestinian state,” Netanyahu wrote in an X post on Saturday.

Netanyahu again reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state on Sunday. “My insistence is what has prevented — over the years — the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have constituted an existential danger to Israel,” he said. “As long as I am prime minister, I will continue to strongly insist on this.”

Netanyahu’s political career is in peril as polling shows the majority of Israelis want him to resign after the war is over, giving him the incentive to continue the Gaza slaughter.

According to Israeli media, to gain more political support, Netanyahu has pitched himself to fellow Likud party members as the only one who can prevent a Palestinian state and as someone who can handle the Americans.

The Biden administration claims it’s opposed to Netanyahu’s plans to occupy Gaza indefinitely and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, but the US continues to provide unconditional military aid and political support for the onslaught.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.