Netanyahu goes against Biden and reiterates there’s ‘no space’ for Palestinian state

Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has doubled down on steadfast resistance to the idea of Palestinian statehood, widening the apparent rift with his closet international allyJoe Biden.

Mr Netanyahu is also facing anger at home with thousands of Israelis holding protests against the leader in Tel Aviv and demanding a new election over alleged mishandling of the nation’s security.

Defying pressure from the US government and allies around the world over the future of Palestinian statehood, Mr Netanyahu sparred with Mr Biden publicly following their phone call over the weekend as the two leaders gave differing views of their interaction.

“In his conversation with President Biden, prime minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy 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,” a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

It was just hours after Mr Biden said of the same conversation that he was confident of the possibility of independent Palestine under Mr Netanyahu’s leadership.

Discussing his administration’s position Friday, Mr Biden said «there are a number of types of two-state solutions» and, asked if a two-state solution was impossible with Mr Netanyahu in office, Mr Biden replied, «No, it’s not.»

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Netanyahu reiterated that Israel must retain «security control over the entire area west of Jordan», a part which also includes the Israeli-occupied West Bank territory.

The comments following Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu’s first conversation in nearly a month appear to show evidentcracks with the allies