US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that an all-out war in the Middle East is possible, but that there is also the possibility of a solution to Israel’s conflict in Gaza with the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas and the conflict with Shiite Islamist Hezbollah, an extension of Iran.
“All-out war is possible, but I also think there’s a chance, we’re still in the game for a solution that can fundamentally change the entire region,” Biden said on ABC’s show.
Biden, who is in New York this week for the session of the UN General Assembly, is trying to reduce tensions in the almost year-long war between Israel and the Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, which threatens to spread to Lebanon as well, according to Reuters.
Israel expanded its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday after shooting down a missile fired by Hezbollah at Mossad headquarters near Tel Aviv.
The American president, who is known as a long-term staunch ally of Israel, is promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, contrary to the position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom that solution is dead.
“I don’t agree with his position. A two-state solution is necessary. It has to happen,” Biden said.
Once a ceasefire is secured with Hezbollah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we can turn our attention to the West Bank.
“It is possible (to achieve it) and I am putting all my energy into making it happen. There is a desire for change,” Biden said.
