The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says he has told the United States he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state once the conflict in Gaza comes to an end. In a news conference, Mr. Netanyahu said Israel must have security control of all territory west of the River Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state. There's been a critical response from Washington. Us State Department spokesman said there was no way to ensure Israel's long-term security without a two-state solution. Many nations, including the US, have long call for a two-state solution in which a future Palestinian state would sit side by side with an Israeli one. Mr. Netanyahu, however, has spent much of his political career opposing Palestinian statehood. Let's have a listen to what he told Thursday's news conference..

In any arrangement in the foreseeable future, with a settlement or without a settlement, Israel needs security control over all territory west of the Jordan River. This is a necessary condition, and it clashes with the idea of Palestinian sovereignty. What can you do? I tell this truth to our American friends, and I also stopped the attempt to impose a reality on us that would harm Israel's security. The Prime Minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends, saying no when necessary, and saying yes when possible.

That's on Yahoo there. Menumen Rad is a senior fellow at the University of California, Berkel Center for International Relations, and a lecturer in Middle East Studies. He says he's not surprised by Mr. Netanyahu's comments.

It doesn't facilitate the pathway towards a solution that I think will bring a diplomatic end to the crisis. But given Netanyahu's stance, historically, as your reporter indicated, it's consistent with his position for a long while.

But it's not going to to move things forward, is it? Is he being realistic?

Oh, no, he's not being realistic. If the solution, the goal is to get the hostages released and to create a secure and stable environment to prevent incidents like October seventh from happening, by all accounts, it's difficult to do without creating a viable pathway towards a Palestinian state. We're seeing divisions in Netanyahu's own cabinet over that very same issue. I think very much he and his right wing members of his coalition stand alone on this.

What do you make of him publicly coming out to rebuke the United States on this?

Well, this is very much for internal domestic consumption. Again, he has extremist members of his cabinet, and he's holding on to a very thin coalition in his ruling government. So if he doesn't come out and proclaim and stake these positions that he needs to maintain, he risks losing the support of those members of Parliament who are, in effect, keeping him in power.

My colleague, Lequaza Burak, speaking to Benjamin Rad.