Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the possibility of Palestinian statehood following the conclusion of the war.
The prime minister’s remarks on Thursday represent a sharp deviation from the Biden administration’s stance that lasting Israeli and Middle Eastern security and peace can only be achieved with the creation of a Palestinian state. While the two sides have disagreed on who should govern the Gaza Strip after the war, the Biden administration has long supported a two-state solution.
Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan [River],” Netanyahu said, referencing what is currently Israel and Gaza, which are west of the Jordan River and east of the Mediterranean Sea. “This clashes with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”
President Joe Biden has supported Israel’s right to defend itself since Hamas carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, though there have been some public disagreements, including over the overwhelming death toll in Gaza and the postwar plan. The administration has called for a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority to govern over both the West Bank, which it currently leads, and the strip while Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have criticized the proposal.
“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” Netanyahu added.
The prime minister indicated that Israel would continue its operations in Gaza until it accomplishes its ultimate goal of ensuring Hamas cannot carry out any more attacks against Israelis. More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed during the three months of the war, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, and fewer than half of them have been militants, according to Israeli military officials. The overwhelming population of Gaza has been displaced from their homes while experts have warned about the likelihood of widespread hunger and disease.
Despite the destruction of Gaza, Hamas maintains its ability to launch missiles targeting Israel and fight against Israeli forces, while more than 100 of the more than 250 people taken hostage and brought back to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attacks remain held against their will in the enclave.
“We strive to achieve total victory,” Netanyahu said. “This is not just a matter of hitting Hamas, this is not another round with Hamas — this is a complete victory.”
U.S. National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters in response to Netanyahu’s comments, “We obviously see it differently, that we believe that the Palestinians have every right to live in an independent state with peace and security.”
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Despite this being Netanyahu’s sharpest rebuttal to the administration’s stance toward the war or the Middle East, Kirby maintained, “This is not a new comment by Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
“I don’t want to characterize his remarks, but I will say that there is a historic opportunity that Israel has to deal with challenges that it has faced since its founding, and we hope the country will take that opportunity,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Thursday as well.
