Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he told US President Joe Biden that he rejected Palestinian sovereignty in the Gaza Strip, in a call the day before, AFP reports.

“In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

A senior Hamas official dismissed Biden’s comments about the possibility of Israel agreeing to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“The illusion that Biden is preaching about a state of Palestine and its characteristics does not fool our people,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the group’s political bureau, said in a statement.

“Biden is a full partner in the genocidal war and our people do not expect any good from him.”