Author: Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Outgoing Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “must find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns” of Palestinians about Israel’s long-term viability.
“And the idea that Israel is going to be able to sustain itself in the long term without agreeing to the Palestinian issue … That’s not going to happen,” said Biden, who is handing over the mandate to Republican President Donald Trump on Monday. interview on MSNBC.
“And I kept reminding my friend, and he is a friend, even though we don’t really get along lately, Bibi Netanyahu, that he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of a large group of people called the Palestinians, who have nowhere to live independently.”
Biden faced criticism from many human rights advocates for his military and diplomatic support for Israel during the military assault on Gaza that killed tens of thousands and led to accusations of war crimes and genocide. Israel denies the accusations.
Biden has occasionally been critical of Netanyahu, but has maintained firm support for the Washington ally. Washington said on Thursday it expected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to take effect on Sunday.
The latest bloodbath in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The ensuing Israeli military assault on Gaza killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, displacing almost the entire population and causing a famine crisis.
For decades, the United States has supported a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians that would create a state alongside Israel for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Netanyahu says Israel must have security control over all the land west of the Jordan River, which would make a sovereign Palestinian state impossible.
The International Court of Justice says Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal.
