US-President Joe Biden believes that the creation of an independent Palestinian state, which was rejected by Israel's head of government, is also possible with Benjamin Netanyahu after the end of the Gaza war. When asked by journalists whether a two-state solution would be impossible as long as the domestically troubled Netanyahu was in office, Biden said on Friday afternoon (local time): “No, it is not.”
The day before, Netanyahu rejected a two-state solution pushed by the US ally, saying: “Israel's prime minister must be able to say 'no' when necessary, even to our best friends.”
Another demonstration against Netanyahu
Meanwhile, around 300 protesters, including dozens of family members of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, gathered outside a Netanyahu home in the city of Caesarea late Friday evening, demanding the hostages' return, Israeli media reported. “We have begged you for 105 days, and now we call on you to stop the executions of the hostages,” the Times of Israel quoted a statement addressed to Netanyahu as saying.
The father of a hostage announced that he would go on hunger strike. Netanyahu is accused of not doing enough to bring home hostages kidnapped by Islamist Hamas terrorists at the start of the Gaza war.
Report: Tensions in Israel's War Cabinet
Ex-Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who is a member of Israel's war cabinet and whose son died in the Gaza war, accused Netanyahu of “selling illusions” that the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza, according to a report in the Washington Post on Friday could be freed from military pressure. “I think we have to realize that it is impossible to bring the hostages back alive in the near future without making an agreement,” Eisenkot said in a recent Israeli television program.
Netanyahu has lost massively in popularity in polls since October 7, when terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out a massacre in Israel and kidnapped around 250 hostages to Gaza. Critics accuse the right-wing politician of neglecting the security forces' preparations for an attack like the one carried out by Hamas on October 7th. In addition, Netanyahu, who has been on trial for corruption for a long time, is accused of delaying the end of the war in the Gaza Strip in order to stay in power.
Biden calls Netanyahu on the phone
According to the White House, US President Biden spoke on the phone with Netanyahu on Friday. According to observers, it was their first phone call in almost four weeks. Biden discussed his vision of lasting peace and security for Israel in the region, said National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby.
Although Netanyahu has expressed his concerns, Biden still firmly believes that a two-state solution is the right path. Biden told reporters in Washington that he thought they would be able to find a solution. There are “different types of two-state solutions”.
EU foreign policy chief: Imposing Palestinian state from outside
According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the international community should “impose the two-state solution from outside” if necessary, even against Israel’s will. Otherwise, “the spiral of hatred will continue to turn generation after generation,” Borrell said on Friday in a speech at the University of Valladolid in Spain. Israelis and Palestinians are no longer capable of compromise. Borrell called on the “Arab world, Europe, the USA and the entire United Nations” to recognize the formation of a Palestinian state, even in the face of Israeli resistance.
Borrell also accused Israel of financing the establishment of Hamas in order to weaken the more moderate Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and thereby prevent a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected this accusation, which has already been made by some of his critics. The US wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to take control of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war. Netanyahu, on the other hand, wants Israel to maintain security control even after the end of the war and is calling for the coastal area to be demilitarized.
Gaza: Downed telecommunications services facing restoration
After eight days largely without telephones or the Internet, residents of the Gaza Strip should soon be able to use telecommunications services again. The operator Paltel announced on Friday evening that it would gradually restore supply.
US military attacks Houthi militia again
Meanwhile, the US attacked targets of the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen on Friday. The new strikes hit three Houthi anti-ship missiles, National Security Council communications director John Kirby said. He stressed that the attacks were in self-defense and intended to help make shipping in the Red Sea safer.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked freighters with alleged Israeli connections. Large shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the Red Sea route, through which around ten percent of world trade normally passes. US President Biden made it clear this week that the US would continue its military strikes against Houthi positions as long as this was necessary.
What will be important on Saturday
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continues between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza. The humanitarian situation for the Palestinian civilian population remains catastrophic.
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