Biden says Palestinian state still possible after Netanyahu call

Washington: US President Joe Biden said on Friday it was still possible Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could agree to some form of Palestinian state, after the two leaders spoke for the first time in nearly a month amid tensions over the Gaza war.

Their call came a day after Netanyahu said he opposes allowing Palestinian sovereignty in the wake of the conflict with Hamas, deepening Israeli divisions with key backer Washington over the conduct of Israel's offensive and what comes next. But Biden said after the call that it was not impossible Netanyahu might come round to some form of so-called two-state solution, mooted for decades as a way to end tensions in the Middle East, despite the Israeli premier's comments. "There are a number of types of two-state solutions. There's a number of countries that are members of the UN that... don't have their own militaries," Biden told reporters.

Hamas dismisses comments

A senior Hamas official dismissed on Saturday comments by US President Joe Biden about the possibility of Israel agreeing to the establishment of a Palestinian state. "The illusion that Biden is preaching about a state of Palestine and its characteristics does not fool our people," Izzat al-Rishq, member of Hamas's political bureau, said.