Israel's Netanyahu rejects US call for two-state solution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US calls to take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the Gaza war.

During a press conference, he confirmed telling Washington that he objected to any Palestinian statehood that did not guarantee Israel's security.

"I clarify that in any arrangement in the foreseeable future, with an accord or without an accord, Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River," Netanyahu said in Tel Aviv.

"That's a necessary condition. It clashes with the principle of sovereignty but what can you do"

He added that the lack of Palestinian statehood had not stood in the way of normalisation agreements with Arab states a few years ago and that he still intended to add more countries to those accords.

It comes after US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the two-state solution is the only feasible way to bring lasting peace to the region.

"But there is no way to solve their long-term challenges to provide lasting security and there is no way to solve the short-term challenges of rebuilding Gaza and establishing governance in Gaza and providing security for Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state," he said. 

Despite the disagreements, U.S. support for longtime ally Israel "remains ironclad," Miller said.

"This is not a question of the United States pressuring them to do anything. This is about the United States laying out for them the opportunity that they have."