President Biden suggested Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could come around to a two-state solution with Palestine if given the “right” terms.
Asked by NBC News if he believed Netanyahu would change his mind on a pathway for Palestine to gain autonomy, he said, “Yes, given the right one.”
His comments come after the Israeli prime minister rejected the U.S. and Arab nations in the region to consider establishing a Palestinian state after the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas ends.
“In any future arrangement … Israel needs security control over all territory west of the Jordan,” Netanyahu said Thursday. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”
In response, White House national security spokesman John Kirby claimed it wasn’t a new comment from the prime minister, but “we obviously see it differently.”
“We believe that the Palestinians have every right to live in an independent state with peace and security,” Kirby said. “And the president and his team is going to continue to work on that.”
Biden spoke with Netanyahu on the phone Friday for the first time in nearly a month, discussing the latest developments in the war and Gaza, per a White House pool note.
Asked by reporters if the administration would reconsider sending additional aid to Israel following the prime minister’s remarks, Biden said he thinks “we’ll be able to work something out.”
“There are a number of types of two-state solutions,” he said. “There’s a number of countries that are members of the UN that are still — don’t have their own militaries … And so I think there’s ways in which this could work.”
The exchange comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that finding a pathway for a two-state solution is “necessary” in order for Israel to obtain “genuine security.” Arab nations in the region agreed to partner with the U.S. to form a plan, but only if Israel is on board.