JERUSALEM—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he “will not compromise on full Israeli control” over Gaza and that “this is contrary to a Palestinian state,” rejecting U.S. President Joe Biden’s suggestion that creative solutions could bridge wide gaps between the leaders’ views on Palestinian statehood.
Mr. Netanyahu posted his statement on social media a day after his first conversation with President Biden in nearly a month. Discussing his administration’s position Friday, President Biden said “there are a number of types of two-state solutions” and, asked if a two-state solution was impossible with Mr. Netanyahu in office, President Biden replied, “No, it’s not.”
After Mr. Netanyahu’s statement, a spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, called for the United States to go further. “It is time for the United States to recognize the state of Palestine, not just talk about a two-state solution,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “the refusal to accept the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, and the denial of the right to statehood for the Palestinian people, are unacceptable.” Speaking in Uganda, he said the refusal would “indefinitely prolong” the conflict.
Mr. Netanyahu has said Israel must fight until it achieves “complete victory” and the Hamas terrorist group no longer poses a threat.
But a member of Israel’s War Cabinet, former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot, has said that complete victory over the terror group was unrealistic.
Israel launched its war against Hamas after terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7 killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with about 250 others taken hostage.
Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say Israel’s offensive has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, although the figure does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Mr. Netanyahu has insisted that the only way to secure the hostages’ return is by crushing Hamas through military means. More than 100 hostages, mostly women and children, were released during a brief November cease-fire in exchange for the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. Israel has said that more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza.
