Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refuted reports that claimed he told US President Joe Biden that he has not ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state, the Times of Israel reported. This comes after a report claimed that Netanyahu told Biden that the public comments he made a day earlier -- in which he appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state -- were not meant to foreclose that outcome in any form.

"In his conversation last night with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu repeated his consistent position for years, which he also expressed at a press conference the day before: after the elimination of Hamas, Israel must remain in full security control of the Gaza Strip to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, and this conflicts with the demand for Palestinian sovereignty," the Israel PM Office said in a statement.