US President Joe Biden has pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the need for future Palestinian statehood, as the two leaders spoke for the first time in a month amid tensions over plans for the aftermath of the Gaza war.
The call came a day after Mr Netanyahu said he opposes allowing Palestinian sovereignty in the wake of the conflict with Hamas, deepening Israeli divisions with key backer Washington over the conduct of Israel’s offensive and what comes next.
“The president still believes in the promise and the possibility of a two-state solution” for both Israelis and Palestinians, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing at the White House after the call.
During his conversation with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Biden “made clear his strong conviction that a two-state solution is still the right path ahead. And we’re going to continue to make that case”.
“Good friends and allies can have those kinds of candid, forthright discussions and we do,” added Mr Kirby.
The call also discussed US hostages still among those held captive by Hamas since the 7 October attack on Israel, he added.
Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu last spoke on 23 December and the silence between them since has led to repeated questions about a rift.
The pair have had a notoriously complicated relationship in the past, with the Democratic US president last year pressing the right-wing Israeli premier over controversial judicial reforms.
But Mr Biden has stood firmly behind Israel since 7 October, even travelling to the country after the attacks, where he publicly embraced Mr Netanyahu and pledged full US support.
Fresh tensions have emerged since then however as the toll of the Israeli offensive on Gaza has mounted, with Mr Biden warning that Israel could lose support by “indiscriminate bombing”.
Israel’s government is also bristling at the US push for a future solution to include statehood for the Palestinians.
Mr Biden ended his tense last call with Mr Netanyahu in December abruptly amid a disagreement over vital Palestinian tax revenues held by Israel, saying “this conversation is over,” Axios reported.
The call today was not however in direct response to Mr Netanyahu’s comments the day before, Mr Kirby said, adding that they had been trying to plan it for some time.
Mr Netanyahu said yesterday that his country “must have security control over all the territory west of the Jordan (River)” and that he had made this clear to Israel’s “American friends”.