Hours after President Joe Biden made his initial telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking support for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told Newsmax Friday that the president intends to contact Arab leaders next about his vision of resolving the one of the longest-standing clashes in the Middle East.
Asked by Newsmax whether the president is planning similar calls with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia as he had with Netanyahu, Kirby replied: "I have little doubt that there'll be additional conversations with both those leaders, as well as, I suppose, King Abdullah of Jordan as well."
But Kirby stopped short of revealing when and to whom Biden's next calls will be made to the Middle East, saying, "I don't have anything on the schedule to speak to today."
On Thursday, Netanyahu appeared to reject in no uncertain terms the scenario of creating a Palestinian state. But in his call with Biden Friday morning, the Israeli leader reportedly told Biden he was not ruling out a Palestinian state in any form.
Addressing possible disagreements between Biden and Netanyahu, Kirby told reporters at the White House: "Look, obviously, each of these two leaders have stated publicly a different view on the promise of a two-state solution. It's not going to change President Biden's mind one bit. He still believes in it."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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