Published January 19,2024
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US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Gaza Friday, of their first dialog for practically a month amid reviews of tensions between the leaders.
The name got here a day after Netanyahu stated he had informed Washington that he opposes permitting Palestinian statehood after the battle with Hamas, placing him at odds with long-standing US coverage.
“President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to discuss the latest developments in Israel and Gaza. A readout of the call will be issued soon,” the White House stated in an announcement.
The pair final spoke on December 23 and the silence since has led to repeated questions on a rift between Biden and Netanyahu over Israel’s offensive in Gaza and future plans.
Democrat Biden and right-winger Netanyahu have had a notoriously difficult relationship up to now however the US president has stood firmly behind Israel since Hamas’s October 7 assaults on the nation.
But the divide over what comes subsequent for the Palestinians after Israel’s response to the assaults has been on sharp show.
Netanyahu stated on Thursday that his nation “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”.
“This is a necessary condition, and it conflicts with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty,” Netanyahu stated in public remarks.
Washington pressured in return that it believes creation of a Palestinian state is the one method to assure Israel’s long-term safety.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated Thursday that Washington and Israel “obviously see it differently.”
One day earlier on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed his name for a “pathway to a Palestinian state.”
“You’re not going to get the genuine security you need absent that,” he stated.
During a visit to the Middle East final week, Blinken emphasised to Israeli authorities that Arab nations, together with Saudi Arabia, have been dedicated to serving to reconstruct Gaza and aiding with future Palestinian governance, however solely on the situation that Israel clear the trail for Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu maintained Thursday that “a prime minister in Israel should be able to say no, even to our best friends — to say no when necessary, and to say yes if possible.”
US officers have publicly rejected reviews of a rift between Biden and Netanyahu when requested concerning the lack of communication between them in latest weeks.
“These are two guys that have known each other for a long, long time — they don’t agree on every issue and you wouldn’t expect them to,” the White House’s Kirby stated earlier this month.
Source: www.anews.com.tr