1/20/2024–|Last updated: 1/20/202406:32 PM (Mecca time)
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that Israel should have security control over Gaza after the war, in the context of conflicting statements between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding plans after the end of the fighting.
The Bureau denied the content of a CNN report that stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed US President Joe Biden – in a phone call yesterday, Friday – that he did not rule out the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.
The Israeli statement said, “During his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after the destruction of Hamas, Israel must maintain security control over Gaza to ensure that it will no longer pose a threat to Israel, which is inconsistent with the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.” .
This is a rare statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, which usually avoids making a statement on the Sabbath, the holy holiday for religious Jews, and it came after… Hours of contact between Biden and Netanyahu on Friday, their first in nearly a month.
Biden said after the call that the Israeli Prime Minister does not oppose all solutions based on two states, considering that the matter is not impossible with Netanyahu in power.
The US President indicated that there are “a number of possible patterns” for this solution, and that some UN member states do not have armed forces, in reference to the possibility of establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Netanyahu had been trying to arrange the phone call for some time, denying that it was a reaction to statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister – the day before yesterday, Thursday – in which he expressed his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu stated that he informed Washington of his opposition to any Palestinian state that does not guarantee the security of Israel, as he put it. He said, “Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River. This is a necessary condition.”
Palestinian refusal
On the other hand, Hamas rejected the US President’s statements regarding “possible patterns” for establishing a Palestinian state.
A member of the movement’s political bureau, Izzat Al-Rishq, said today, Saturday, in a statement that “selling the illusion that Biden is trying to talk about a Palestinian state (…) does not deceive our people.”
Al-Rishq added, “Biden is a full partner in the war of genocide, and our people do not expect anything good from him.”
He said, “These people think of themselves as the guardians of the Palestinian people. They want to choose for them the type of state that suits them.”
For its part, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry confirmed its refusal to comment on the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on press reports regarding Biden and Netanyahu’s call.
The Ministry stressed in a statement that repeating these statements and demanding Israeli security control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip is “a blatant challenge to the declared positions of the American administration and its efforts to resolve the conflict and achieve security and stability in the region.”
Israel continues its war on Gaza for the 106th day with broad political and military support from the United States, which supplies it with thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition via an air bridge.
But there are discrepancies between Biden and Netanyahu regarding the management of the war and plans for the so-called “next day” after the end of the fighting, especially in light of the failure to achieve the main declared goals of the war, which are the elimination of Hamas and the recovery of Israeli prisoners.
Netanyahu is also facing escalating internal disputes, as the official Israeli radio quoted senior security and military leaders as agreeing with the ministers, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Yoav Galant, that “the absence of a political vision for the day after the war on Gaza will prevent Israel’s victory over Hamas.”
