The White House said that President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Friday, January 19, 2024, discussed developments in Israel and the Gaza Strip, in their first conversation in nearly a month.

In a White House statement, he explained that Biden and Netanyahu “discussed the latest developments in Israel and Gaza,” adding that he would publish a briefing on the call soon.

There are reports of tensions between Netanyahu and Biden, due to the war that has been ongoing since last October in the Gaza Strip.

This call comes a day after Netanyahu apparently rejected the idea of establishing a Palestinian state, a statement that would put him at odds with Biden's position.

“Netanyahu does not oppose the two-state solution.”

In another statement in response to a question about whether the two-state solution is “impossible” with Netanyahu in office, the US President said that establishing an independent Palestinian state is not impossible with Netanyahu in power, adding that they discussed the matter on Friday.

He added that Netanyahu does not oppose all two-state solutions, noting that there are a number of possible patterns, as some UN member states do not have armed forces.

The Israeli website Ynet reported earlier, citing unnamed sources, that those close to US President Joe Biden advised him to announce a “loss of personal confidence” in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, because the latter is “slow in ending the war” for personal reasons, and avoids discussing the issue of managing matters. In Gaza after the end of the war.

The report, which was published on Thursday, January 18, 2024, indicated that Biden had begun to “get fed up” with Netanyahu’s decisions, and his “patience was about to run out,” as the latter’s behavior sparked frustration in the White House, and officials there began to see that he was not putting Prisoners are at the forefront of his war goals.

It is noteworthy that reports reported by the American network NBC News, on Thursday, spoke of the desire of the American administration to bypass Netanyahu and cooperate with Israeli opponents to end the war in Gaza.

In response, Netanyahu said in a press conference: “Those who talk about ‘the day after Netanyahu’ are actually talking about establishing a Palestinian state with the Palestinian Authority, and this is what they are actually saying. In fact, it is not ‘the day after Netanyahu’, but rather ( "The day after exceeding what the majority of Israeli citizens want."

On the other hand, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that there is no way to solve the security problems facing the State of Israel, and restore stability in Gaza, except by establishing a Palestinian state.

Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, which, as of Friday, left “24,762 martyrs and 62,108 injured, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” and caused the displacement of about 1.9 million people, i.e. more than 85% of the population. Residents of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian authorities and the United Nations.