The Times of Israel newspaper said today (Friday) that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed, after a phone call between him and US President Joe Biden last night, that Israel “will not yield to pressure to accept a Palestinian state.”

Israeli media reported yesterday that Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone for the second time within a week, amid tensions between the two sides regarding Gaza and a pending deal with Hamas regarding prisoners and detainees.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper said that the conversation lasted 40 minutes, and came in the wake of talks that took place earlier in Israel between Netanyahu and CIA Director William Burns.

Netanyahu said through his account on the “X” platform: “My positions can be summarized in the following two sentences: Israel categorically rejects international trends regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. We will not reach such an agreement except through direct negotiations between the two parties and without any preconditions.”

He added: “Israel will continue to oppose any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, considering that such recognition in the wake of the October 7 attack would provide a reward for what he described as unprecedented “terrorism.”

The Times of Israel newspaper had quoted an official in Netanyahu's office as saying that during the call, they discussed the issue of detainees, the situation in Rafah, and the next stage in the fight against Hamas. They also discussed the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Biden had stressed to the Israeli Prime Minister in a call on Sunday the necessity of having a credible and “executable” plan to ensure the security of the displaced in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip before carrying out a military operation there.

The White House added in a statement that Biden and Netanyahu called for urgent steps to increase the volume of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.

Biden also called for the need to build on the progress achieved in the detainee exchange negotiations in Gaza.