JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden held separate phone calls on Saturday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, statements from the Israeli and Palestinian leaders’ offices said.
Netanyahu told Biden that “unity and determination” were needed to achieve Israel’s combat goals against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, Netanyahu’s office said, adding that he thanked the president for his support.
Abbas’ office said the Palestinian leader told Biden he completely rejects the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, as Israel retaliates for a deadly Hamas attack on its territory.
A U.S. official confirmed the two calls but no details were immediately available from the White House.
(Reporting Emily Rose in Jerusalem and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Chizu Nomiyama)
