Middle East Live News: Iran Accuses Israel of Killing Military Advisers in Syria
President Biden pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Friday to conform to the creation of a Palestinian state after the warfare in Gaza is over and raised choices that may restrict Palestinian sovereignty to make the prospect extra palatable to Israel.
Hoping to beat Mr. Netanyahu’s strenuous resistance, Mr. Biden floated the likelihood of a disarmed Palestinian nation that may not threaten Israel’s safety. While there was no indication that Mr. Netanyahu would ease his opposition, which is fashionable together with his fragile right-wing political coalition, Mr. Biden expressed optimism that they might but discover consensus.
“There are a number of types of two-state solutions,” the president advised reporters on the White House a number of hours after the decision, their first in practically a month amid rigidity over the warfare. “There’s a number of countries that are members of the U.N. that are still — don’t have their own militaries. Number of states that have limitations.” He added, “And so I think there’s ways in which this could work.”
Asked what Mr. Netanyahu was open to, Mr. Biden stated, “I’ll let you know.” But he rejected the notion {that a} so-called two-state resolution is unimaginable so long as Mr. Netanyahu is in energy — “no, it’s not” — and he dismissed the concept of imposing circumstances on American safety support to Israel if the prime minister continues to withstand.
“I think we’ll be able to work something out,” Mr. Biden stated.
A day later, nevertheless, Mr. Netanyahu appeared to not have been swayed by Mr. Biden’s pitch. “I shall not compromise on full Israeli security control of the entire area west of Jordan — and that is irreconcilable with a Palestinian state,” he stated in a publish on social media.
The final time the 2 leaders have been identified to have talked was on Dec. 23, in a name that was later described as particularly tense.
The name on Friday got here a day after Mr. Netanyahu had advised reporters in Israel that he had rebuffed Mr. Biden’s efforts to pressure him right into a two-state resolution. “The prime minister needs to be able to say no, even to our best friends,” Mr. Netanyahu advised reporters.
Mr. Biden has argued that the creation of a Palestinian state that ensures Israel’s safety is the one viable long-term decision to a battle that has dragged on for many years, repeating a place held by most American presidents and European leaders in current historical past. In the meantime, Mr. Biden has recommended {that a} “revitalized” model of the Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the West Bank, take over Gaza as properly as soon as Hamas has been faraway from energy there — one other thought Mr. Netanyahu has rejected as a result of he considers the authority corrupt and compromised by help for terrorists.
“The president still believes in the promise and the possibility of a two-state solution,” John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, advised reporters on the White House after the decision, which he stated lasted 30 to 40 minutes. “He recognizes that’s going to take a lot of work. It’s going to take a lot of leadership — there in the region particularly, on both sides of the issue. And the United States stands firmly committed to eventually seeing that outcome.”
Mr. Kirby stated the 2 leaders additionally mentioned hostages held by Hamas, humanitarian support to Gaza, the discharge of tax funds to the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank and the shift in Israel’s navy technique to extra surgical operations. But Mr. Kirby revealed no particular new agreements and confirmed that the leaders continued to disagree in regards to the prospect of a Palestinian state.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu have identified one another for many years, and the connection between the left-leaning president and right-leaning prime minister has lengthy been difficult. They squared off final 12 months over Mr. Netanyahu’s try and strip away some of the ability of Israel’s judiciary and over Mr. Biden’s drive to barter a brand new nuclear settlement with Iran.
After the Oct. 7 terrorist assault by Hamas killed 1,200 in Israel, they put their variations apart to embrace each other each figuratively and actually. But as Israel’s warfare in opposition to Hamas has devastated a lot of Gaza, reportedly killing greater than 24,000 combatants and civilians, they’ve grown more and more at odds once more.
The lengthy hole between calls in itself was a sign of friction. In the 2 and a half months between the Oct. 7 assault and their pre-Christmas dialog, Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu spoke 14 occasions, or roughly as soon as each 5 and a half days. This time it took 27 days to succeed in out once more.
But Mr. Kirby sought to minimize the discord, characterizing their clashes as sincere disagreements between associates. “We’re not going to agree on everything,” he stated. “We’ve said that. Good friends and allies can have those kinds of candid, forthright discussions and we do.”
He rejected the notion that Mr. Biden was attempting to coerce Mr. Netanyahu into accepting a Palestinian state. “This isn’t about trying to twist somebody’s arm or force a change in their thinking,” he stated. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear his concerns about that. President Biden has 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.”
Mr. Kirby cautioned Mr. Netanyahu about his use of language, referring to the prime minister’s assertion that Israel should preserve safety management over Gaza and the West Bank. Mr. Netanyahu, talking in Hebrew, referred to “all the territory west of the Jordan” however some translated it incorrectly into English as “from the river to the sea,” wording that has drawn criticism.
The latter phrase, usually utilized by Palestinians and their supporters, is taken by many backers of Israel as an antisemitic assertion advocating the eradication of Israel, which lies between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, as do the Palestinian territories. The House censured Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, in November for utilizing that phrase.
Asked about Mr. Netanyahu’s remark, Mr. Kirby stated, “It’s not a phrase that we recommend using because of that context.”
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