Netanyahu rejects calls for Palestinian sovereignty after talks with Biden on post-war Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday his desire for security control over all territory west of Jordan is contrary to the existence of a Palestinian state.

He did not provide any other details in his one-line post, which came a day after he had a phone call with US President Joe Biden which included discussions on the matter. 

Netanyahu’s post echoes a statement he made on Thursday where he said Israel “must control security of all the land which is west of the Jordan River.”

In a separate post, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also reasserted his rejection of a Palestinian state. “I do deny a Palestinian state. Always!” Ben Gvir said on X.

Some background: It remains unclear what post-war Gaza will look like, but Netanyahu is under competing pressures from the international community to allow a viable Palestinian state and domestically to guarantee Israel’s security in the wake of the October 7 attacks.

Following their call, Biden told reporters he believed Netanyahu could ultimately be convinced of a two-state solution.

“There are a number of types of two-state solutions,” he said.

“There’s a number of countries that are members of the UN that are still – don’t have their own military; a number of states that have limitations, and so I think there’s ways in which this can work,” Biden added.