European Union (EU) foreign ministers argued on Monday that the creation of a Palestinian state is the only credible way to achieve peace in the Middle East, expressing concern about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s clear rejection of the idea, The Associated Press reported.
“The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all,” French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne told reporters in Brussels, where ministers met to discuss the war in Gaza.
“Gaza is in a situation of extreme urgency. There is a risk of famine. There is a risk of epidemics. The violence must stop,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, adding a two-state solution was “the only way to establish peace in a durable way in the region.”
The comments follow a report in CNN which said that Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden in a Friday phone conversation that he is not ruling out the creation of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu also told the US President that his statements at a press conference held earlier this week "were not meant to foreclose that outcome in any form," a person familiar with the conversation told CNN.
Netanyahu's office responded to the report in a rare statement made on Shabbat which said, "In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty."