WashingtonCNN –
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a phone call with President Joe Biden on Friday that public statements he made a day earlier – in which he appeared to reject the idea of establishing a Palestinian state – should in no way preclude that outcome . a person familiar with the conversation told CNN.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed the possible characteristics of a future Palestinian state that would ultimately need to be negotiated, the person added, describing the conversation as “serious” and “detailed.”
Biden administration officials have recently been involved in discussions about a future demilitarized Palestinian state, an idea the president finds “intriguing,” the person said.
Biden is certainly familiar with the ideas that have been discussed for years of a demilitarized Palestinian state or a state with significantly limited military power, an administration official said. And these are among the schools of thought that shape the president's thinking as he pushes for a two-state solution with a security guarantee for Israel, the official added.
A few hours after ending the call with Netanyahu, Biden raised that possibility in a call with reporters at the White House, saying he believes “there are different types of two-state solutions.”
“There are a number of countries that are members of the United Nations and … do not have their own military; There are a number of states that have restrictions and so I think there are ways that this can work,” Biden said.
It was less clear to him exactly how he would achieve it.
“I’ll let you know if he agrees,” Biden told reporters.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Saturday: “In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after the destruction of Hamas, Israel must maintain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel .” a demand that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.”
The lack of certainty only underscores the challenge Biden faces as he tries to pressure Netanyahu to adopt a new approach on the battlefield and plan for a future in Gaza, but this is met with open resistance and disunity.
Biden and Netanyahu remain publicly at odds over the fundamental question of what will happen to Gaza when the war between Israel and Hamas ends, despite intensive American efforts in recent months to get officials in Israel and across the region to agree on a plan which they hope can finally be implemented and resolve the decades-long conflict.
Biden and his top officials – including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Israel and the region last week – said creating a Palestinian state with guarantees of Israel's security was the only way to finally bring peace and stability to the Middle East.
Netanyahu said during a news conference on Thursday that he rejected those calls, arguing such a move would conflict with Israel's security.
“In any future agreement… Israel will need security control over the entire area west of Jordan. This contradicts the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What can you do?” He said at a news conference in Tel Aviv when asked about reports that he had told American officials he rejected the idea of Palestinian sovereignty.
How the two leaders bridge that gap remains a question that Biden's advisers recognize cannot be resolved quickly. However, according to Biden, the prospect of a demilitarized Palestinian state is an opportunity.
One Arab leader who has recently publicly discussed the idea of a demilitarized Palestinian state is Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
“We have said that we are ready for the demilitarization of this state and there can also be guarantees for armed forces, be they NATO forces, United Nations forces or Arab or American forces, until we provide security for both states, the emerging Palestinian one state and the emerging Palestinian state.” “The Israeli state,” Sisi said at a press conference in November.
Biden also told reporters Friday that he expects his Israeli counterpart would ultimately agree to a two-state solution “if the right decision is made.”
Biden's phone call with Netanyahu on Friday was his first in nearly a month and lasted about 40 minutes. According to the White House, no new agreements were reached on the future of Gaza or the course of the conflict there.
In the call, Biden reiterated “his strong belief in the viability of a two-state solution – with the understanding, of course, that we won't get there tomorrow,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said after the call.
Biden and Netanyahu, who have known each other for more than four decades, were frequently at odds both before and after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Biden decried Netanyahu's far-right ruling coalition and told donors last month that his counterpart's political situation was making it difficult for the prime minister to change his approach to Gaza.
Privately, American officials said they viewed Netanyahu's latest statement as similarly politically motivated, given his lack of support in Israel due to the Oct. 7 attacks, the inability to secure the release of more hostages held by Hamas and an uncertain strategy Gaza is under strong pressure from Israel.
On Friday, divisions emerged within Israeli society and even within Netanyahu's own war cabinet over the prime minister's strategy, increasing pressure on Netanyahu's government. Family members of hostages and their supporters blocked a highway in Tel Aviv on Friday, calling on the Israeli government and the international community to do more to ensure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
And in a television interview, Israeli War Minister Gadi Eisenkot called on the country's leadership to better define the course of the war in Gaza, saying a longer ceasefire was the only way to ensure the release of more hostages. He said Israel needed new elections as public trust in Netanyahu's leadership was waning.
“We have to go to the polls and hold elections in the next few months to renew trust, because there is currently no trust,” Eisenkot said in an interview with Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 on Thursday evening. “The State of Israel is a democracy and must ask ourselves after such a serious event: How can we move forward with a leadership that is responsible for such an absolute failure?”
Israel's current policies have long frustrated Biden, who has identified the most right-wing members of Netanyahu's government by name as obstacles to a two-state solution.
But White House officials said the president continues to insist that differences with his counterpart are best addressed behind the scenes rather than in public. Biden offered his unwavering support to his Israeli counterpart and the Israeli people in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack, even flying to the war zone to show that he and the United States gave their ally's full support.
But that overwhelming support has become increasingly controversial and less tenable as Israel's massive airstrikes – followed by a ground assault – have resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties in Gaza.
Even as public opinion began to shift under Biden and polls showed his support slipping among younger voters and Arab Americans, senior U.S. officials insisted they would stick to the strategy of quietly advising Israel on the war – and sometimes also to criticize. The government simply did not believe that publicly shaming Netanyahu and his government and their wartime decisions would be constructive.
Netanyahu's recent comments appeared to contradict this approach and brought divisions between the US and Israel to the fore.
On Friday, senior administration officials sought to downplay Netanyahu's recent rejection of the idea of a Palestinian state, stressing that he had said so publicly in the past. Kirby said Biden is hardly “Polyannian” about the prospects for a two-state solution.
“He understands how hard it is,” he said, later adding: “We’re not going to agree on everything. We said that, and good friends and allies can have these open, frank discussions, and that's what we're doing.”
This headline and article have been updated with additional reporting.