UK defense minister: ‘Disappointing’ that Netanyahu doesn’t believe in 2-state solution, but he’s always said that

Britain’s Defense Minister Grant Shapps says it is “disappointing” that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not in favor of a Palestinian state.

“It’s disappointing to hear that Netanyahu doesn’t believe in a two-state solution, although in fairness, he’s said that all of his political career, as far as I can tell,” Shapps tells Sky News.

“I don’t think we get to a solution unless there’s a two-state solution,” he says.

“We don’t interfere in other countries’ democratic processes,” Shapps says, noting the divisions within the Israeli political leadership, as well as the close relations between the UK and Israel.

Netanyahu pushed back yesterday against a report that he’d told US President Joe Biden he has not ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state.

However, the carefully worded statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office did not definitively rule out the possibility of a Palestinian state with less than full sovereignty — a possible option that Biden mentioned in comments after the leaders’ Friday call when he spoke of “types” of two-state solution.