Palestinian PM: US must now 'walk the walk' to put pressure on Israel for two-state solution

The Palestinian prime minister has said Biden's administration must now “walk the walk” and take steps towards what has been an elusive two-state solution, including by applying pressure on Israel.

Mohammed Shtayyeh spoke to The Associated Press as US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met in Tel Aviv with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss the course of the Israel-Hamas war, now in its third month.

Mr Gallant said Israel’s aim of destroying Hamas will take several more months.

The two-state solution is the idea that establishing an independent Palestine alongside Israel would create a way for the two peoples to co-exist peacefully.

“Now that the United States has talked the talk, we want Washington to walk the walk, meaning that we need specific measures to implement the two-state solution, not only believe in the two-state solution,” Shtayyeh said on Thursday.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior Israeli officials on Thursday.

They reportedly spent time discussing the “phasing” of Israel’s operations, including how the Israelis expect the fighting to play out in the weeks ahead and going into January, according to a senior Biden administration official.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

They added US and Israeli officials agreed there would be a shift from the current high-intensity operations to a more "targeted surgical operations on high-value targets, specific military infrastructure, and other narrower targets".

The official pushed back on reports that the Biden White House wants to see major operations completed by the end of the month, but declined to provide a timetable.

ITV News Washington Editor Jonathan Wald reports on the talks held by the US and Israeli officials

The US has shielded Israel against growing international calls for an immediate cease-fire, but is publicly disagreeing with its close ally on a post-war scenario.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Wednesday: “We are continuing until the end, there is no question. I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us."

The country shows no signs of backing down from its assault on Gaza despite growing diplomatic isolation and international outcry.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, said Thursday the country would not accept a two-state solution after the war in Gaza ends.

Hotovely claimed "the world should know now that the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel".

Her comments come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday that the country will press ahead with the offensive "until the end" and rejected calls for a ceasefire.

It came amid growing criticism over the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, with US president Joe Biden suggesting Israel was losing international support over "indiscriminate bombing".

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby suggested Wednesday that some of the steps the Israeli military has taken to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza might go further than what the US would have done if it were in Israel’s place.

Kirby said that global opinion on the conflict "also matters" adding that the US "have had concerns" about the prosecution of this military campaign.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he does not agree with the comments made by Hotovely on Thursday, saying the UK believes "the two-state solution is the right outcome."

“And more immediately, what is going on is incredibly concerning. I’ve said consistently, far too many innocent people have lost their lives," he added. “No-one wants this conflict to go on for a moment longer than is necessary.”

More than 18,600 Palestinians have now been killed in the strip since Israel launched its assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The attack was made in retaliation to the October 7 attack by Hamas which killed 1,200 people.

Over 100 Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers have been killed in the military's ground offensive in Gaza. The military suffered one of its deadliest days since the war began on Tuesday when it lost 10 soldiers, nine of whom were killed in an ambush in Gaza City.

Responding to comments by US President Joe Biden on the issue this week, Israel's communications minister and member of Netanyahu's far-right Likud party, Shlomo Karhi, said: "There will be no Palestinian state here.

"We will never allow another state to be established between the Jordan and the sea. We will never go back to Oslo."

Meanwhile the head of Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad has cancelled a planned trip to restart talks on a potential second hostage release deal, sources have told CNN.

The first round of exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners was mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

Mr Netanyahu's office believes 135 hostages remain in Gaza, 116 of whom are alive.

However, formal negotiations to release them have not resumed since talks broke down in Doha earlier this month.

A source familiar with the negotiations said Hamas had been unresponsive to recent attempts to revive the hostage talks.

“There’s not an active negotiation, but there’s a real exploration of ideas for how to get this going,” the senior US official said.

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