Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has told the United States he is opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza is over.
“In any future arrangement … Israel needs security control all territory west of the Jordan,” Netanyahu said in a briefing on Thursday. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”
His objection to a Palestinian state sets up a clash of ideals with the Biden administration, which has been working diligently behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for a united West Bank and Gaza post-war. U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken has been touring the Middle East in recent days to shore up support for such a possibility.
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White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby reiterated Thursday that the Biden administration still wants a two-state solution.
“Nothing’s changed about President Biden’s desire, that a two state solution is really in best interest of not only the Israeli people but of course the Palestinian people, in fact in the best interest of the region… and we’re not going to stop working towards that goal,” Kirby told reporters in a briefing. “We obviously see it differently.”
A senior administration official told The Daily Beast the Biden administration will take this kind of statement with a grain of salt.
“If we took such statements as the final word, there would be no humanitarian assistance going into Gaza and no hostages released,” the senior administration official said. “As with those and many other issues, we will continue to work toward the right outcome, particularly on issues where we strongly disagree.”
His announcement comes days after the Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, announced a “day after” the war plan for Gaza, which did not touch on these kind of details.
It was scant on specifics, only mentioning an unnamed “entity” that would govern Gaza after the war and clarifying that Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, should not be in control. Under Gallant’s plan, a copy of which The Daily Beast previously obtained, Palestinian bodies would be in charge.
Deep divisions have emerged among the Untied States, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and other Arab states working on various proposals addressing ceasefires, hostage releases, humanitarian relief, and post-war planning.
In recent days, Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from his war cabinet to prioritize securing the release of over 100 hostages still stuck in Hamas captivity in Gaza—even if it means pausing measures aimed at eliminating Hamas.
Netanyahu vowed Thursday, though, to continue the war in Gaza until Israel is able to achieve a “decisive victory over Hamas.”
