Netanyahu Rejects Granting Palestinians Sovereignty Over Gaza in Call with Biden

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Saturday that he conveyed to US President Joe Biden in a Friday phone call his refusal to confer sovereignty to Palestinians over the Gaza Strip. 

This conversation marked the leaders' first telephonic exchange in approximately a month. 

Following the call, Biden expressed his belief that Netanyahu might still accept some form of a Palestinian state. 

Netanyahu's office, in a Saturday statement, reiterated his policy that, after dealing with Hamas, Israel must maintain security control over Gaza to prevent it from posing a threat to Israel – a condition conflicting with the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.

 

 

AFP