– The president still believes in the promise of, and in the possibility of, a two-state solution, says spokesman John Kirby for Biden’s national security council after the phone call. Netanyahu stated during a televised press conference on Thursday that he is against giving the Palestinians a separate state. He also said that he had briefed the US on this. According to Kirby, Biden made clear on Friday “his strong conviction that a two-state solution is still the right way forward”. – Good friends and allies can have frank discussions, which we have, Kirby said after Friday’s conversation between the two leaders. Biden: Netanyahu does not rule out a two-state solution Later on Friday, Biden was asked whether it would be impossible with a two-state solution as long as Netanyahu is prime minister of Israel. – No, it is not, replied Biden. He added that Netanyahu is not opposed to all two-state solutions, and there are several possibilities for such a solution. He further pointed out that some UN member states do not have their own military. The last time Biden and Netanyahu spoke on the phone was on December 23. Sources the website Axios spoke to described the conversation as heated. Pointing the finger Biden has repeatedly asked Netanyahu to scale back the attacks on the Gaza Strip, pay more attention to the civilian population there, open up more emergency aid and eventually hand the enclave over to the Palestinians again. But so far he has fallen on deaf ears. “The president’s patience is running out,” a US official told Axios last weekend. – Netanyahu points the finger at Biden at every opportunity, stated the president’s party colleague, Senator Chris Van Hollen. – The White House is begging the Netanyahu government, but is repeatedly slapped in the face, he said. Biden has repeatedly asked Netanyahu to scale back the attacks on the Gaza Strip. Here are Palestinian children in one of the many piles of rubble in the destroyed Nuseirat refugee camp on Friday Photo: AP No truce required Kirby emphasized after Friday’s telephone conversation between Biden and Netanyahu that the US does not demand that Israel end the war against Hamas, but that so-called humanitarian pauses be introduced. – We support humanitarian breaks to get the hostages out and more emergency aid in, but we do not currently support a ceasefire, says Kirby. – It is important to remember that there was a ceasefire in place on 6 October, he says. Norway supports two-state solution Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says Netanyahu’s rejection of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is “very worrying”. – It is very serious that Netanyahu is so clear that he does not want to be part of this solution, Barth Eide told news on Friday. Norway believes that such a solution is the only way to peace. Also listen:
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