Joe Biden called Benjamin Netanyahu: he insisted on the need for a two-state solution

There is bad mood between the United States and Israel. This is because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this time insisted, perhaps with greater intensity, on his position against the future existence of a Palestinian state as demanded by the United States and the European Union, in addition to their regional allies in the Arab world.

The statements caused a immediate recrimination from the White House. And this Friday an unexpected call from President Joe Biden to reiterate directly to the Israeli president that “the only way out of this crisis is the Palestinian state solution” while calling on him to reduce the harm suffered by non-belligerent civilians in Gaza, a problem fueling a growing international offensive.

The military operation was triggered by the bloody Hamas attack on October 7 that left more than 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, women, children and the elderly.

The conversation lasted 40 minutes and happened after 27 days of silence and coldness of the democratic government internally besieged for the support it provides to Israel amid the images of the Palestinian drama, with over 23 thousand dead in indiscriminate bombings, even in supposedly protected sites, cities destroyed, without food, water, energy or hospitals.

“Israel must have control over the security of all territory located west of the Jordan (river). “It is a necessary condition, which is contradictory to the idea of ​​(Palestinian) sovereignty,” the Israeli prime minister said yesterday.

“We obviously see things differently,” responded US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “President (Biden) still believes in the promise and possibility of a two-state solution,” Kirby said at the White House. It was a preview of the live message from the head of the US government.

Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on December 23, and the silence between them has been repeated ever since questions about a breakup.

The two have had a notoriously complicated relationship since the Democratic leader last year pressured Israel’s right-wing ruler to adopt controversial reforms to reduce the power of the judiciary planned by his executive. But at the same time, Biden has strongly supported Israel since October 7, and even traveled to the country after the attacks, publicly embracing Netanyahu and promising him full support.

The political background

There are other wallpapers. This controversial political leader returned to power in Israel late last year, allying himself with very minority ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, which under no other circumstances could have formed the country’s government.

From these positions, particularly in the Economy and National Security, these fundamentalist forces propose to convince the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank to go to other countries to create a Greater Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan. The Palestinian people number just over five million people. The devastating nature of the offensive in Gaza, according to some analysts, is behavior in line with these extremist ideas.

If Netanyahu accepted the North American and European proposals, he would run the risk of losing the support of these allies, the government would fall, he would lose his position and he would face a series of corruption charges against him. An alternative is to call for early elections

In this sense, the observation of analysts such as Ashei Pfetter in the newspaper is valid Haaretz, which last December pointed out that Netanyahu had begun broadcasting a campaign video in which he reaffirmed his differences with the United States over what should happen in Gaza. A narrative for the public and his partners.

“The US administration knows that Netanyahu does not want the Palestinian Authority to take control of Gaza the day after the war ends. “The Americans also made it clear to him that they did not care about his opinions,” he wrote.

He added that the truth is that “quietly, behind the scenes,” a team led by Netanyahu’s top lieutenants (Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi) “is already discussing how the Palestinian Authority will finally take power. in Gaza.”

According to this observer, Netanyahu knows that whichever Israeli government is in power when the time comes, “it will have no choice but to accept the American plan for Gaza.” Even the White House knows it.