In a few, if implicit, criticisms of Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denounced Israeli policies, including settlement expansion and home demolitions, as detrimental to the settlement of the two states
Still, at a news conference at the end of his trip to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on Tuesday, Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to Israel.
“The United States is committed to working toward our enduring goal of ensuring that Palestinians and Israelis enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, opportunity, justice, and dignity,” Blinken said, stressing the need to preserve the “view” of the two states. solution
“The United States will continue to oppose anything that detracts from this goal, including but not limited to the expansion of settlements and the legalization of illegal outposts, moves to annex the West Bank, the disruption of the historical status quo in the holy sites of Jerusalem, demolitions and evictions and incitement and acquiescence to violence”.
Rights advocates have long urged Washington to pressure Israel to end its abuses of Palestinians.
The United States provides at least $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel each year while pushing to block international efforts to denounce Israel’s violations, including at the United Nations.
Successive US administrations, including that of President Joe Biden, have maintained unconditional support for Israel while rhetorically supporting the two-state solution, a prospect that many experts say is no longer realistic due to the policies of settlement of Israel.
“I reaffirmed to Israel and its people America’s steadfast commitment to Israel’s security. The rising tide of violence has resulted in the loss of many innocent lives on both sides,” Blinken said Tuesday.
Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in occupied Ramallah earlier in the day.
Last week, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians in the West Bank, including nine in the Jenin refugee camp. A day later, a Palestinian gunman fatally shot seven Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem.
Abbas’s office issued a statement through the Palestinian WAFA news agency, blaming Israel for the recent crisis and accusing it of stifling the two-state solution and violating international law.
“This comes at a time when Israel continues, without any deterrence or accountability, its unilateral operations, including settlements, de facto annexation, settler terrorism,” the Palestinian president said.
Abbas also denounced that Israel was “violating the historical status quo and violating the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and “retaining [Palestinian] funds, together with policies of ethnic cleansing and apartheid”.
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians rose earlier this month after an ultra-nationalist minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in a move condemned by Palestinian leaders and Arabs as a “provocation”.
On Tuesday, Abbas implicitly attacked U.S. opposition to a Palestinian diplomatic push to demand accountability for Israeli abuses.
“The continued opposition to the efforts of the Palestinian people to defend their existence and their legitimate rights in international forums and courts, and to provide international protection to our people, is a policy that encourages the Israeli occupier to commit more crimes and violate the international law,” Abbas said.
At his press conference, Blinken said Washington’s immediate priority is to “restore calm” and defuse tensions between Israelis and Palestinians before pushing for a long-term deal.
Blinken added that he asked his team members to stay in the region to help with that goal.
Earlier in the day, he said the US is working to reopen a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, a Biden campaign promise that has yet to be fulfilled amid Israeli opposition. Former President Donald Trump had closed the US diplomatic mission to the Palestinians while cutting ties with the Palestinian leadership.
On Tuesday, Blinken said Washington is trying to “rebuild” its relationship with the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority.
The top US diplomat did not mention Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen who was fatally shot by Israeli forces last year, in public statements while in Israel.
Asked whether Blinken raised the killing of Abu Akleh with Israeli officials, a US State Department spokesman referred Al Jazeera to “public readings” of the top diplomat’s meetings. Available readings did not mention the slain journalist.
Blinken said on Tuesday he spoke with Israeli officials about deepening cooperation to counter Iran amid stalled diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that saw Tehran scale back its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against its economy.
“We continued what has been an ongoing discussion about ways to continue to work together, to collaborate, and not just us, with other countries to counter the malicious actions that Iran is engaged in, whether in this region or beyond”. Blinken told reporters.