In uncommon — albeit implicit — criticism of Israel, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has referred to as out Israeli insurance policies, together with settlement enlargement and residential demolitions, as detrimental to the two-state answer.
Nonetheless, at a information convention on the finish of his journey to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on Tuesday, Blinken reasserted Washington’s “ironclad” dedication to Israel.
“The USA is dedicated to working towards our enduring objective of guaranteeing that Palestinians and Israelis take pleasure in equal measures of freedom, safety, alternative, justice and dignity,” Blinken mentioned, stressing the necessity for preserving the “imaginative and prescient” of the two-state answer.
“The USA will proceed to oppose something that places that objective farther from attain, together with however not restricted to settlement enlargement and the legalisation of unlawful outposts, strikes in the direction of annexation of the West Financial institution, disruption to the historic establishment on Jerusalem’s holy websites, demolitions and evictions and incitement and acquiescence to violence.”
Rights advocates have lengthy urged Washington to press Israel to finish its abuses in opposition to Palestinians.
The US supplies at the very least $3.8bn in navy help to Israel every year whereas pushing to dam worldwide efforts to denounce Israeli violations, together with on the United Nations.
Successive US administrations, together with that of President Joe Biden, have maintained unconditional assist for Israel as they rhetorically again the two-state answer — a prospect that many specialists say is not reasonable due to Israel’s settlement insurance policies.
“I reaffirmed to Israel and its folks the US’ ironclad dedication to Israel’s safety. The rising tide of violence has resulted within the lack of many harmless lives on either side,” Blinken mentioned on Tuesday.
Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in occupied Ramallah earlier within the day.
Final week, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians within the West Financial institution, together with 9 within the Jenin refugee camp. A day later, a Palestinian gunman fatally shot seven Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem.
Abbas’s workplace launched an announcement through the Palestinian information company WAFA, blaming Israel for the latest disaster and accusing it of stifling the two-state answer and violating worldwide legislation.
“This comes at a time when Israel continues — with none deterrent or accountability — its unilateral operations, together with settlements, de-facto annexation, settler terrorism,” the Palestinian president mentioned.
Abbas additionally decried that Israel was “violating the historic establishment and breaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and “withholding [Palestinian] funds, together with insurance policies of ethnic cleaning and apartheid”.
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians spiked earlier this month after an ultranationalist minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in a transfer condemned by Palestinian and Arab leaders as a “provocation”.
On Tuesday, Abbas implicitly hit out at US opposition to a Palestinian diplomatic push to hunt accountability for Israeli abuses.
“The continued opposition to the efforts of the Palestinian folks to defend their existence and their reputable rights in worldwide boards and courts, and to supply worldwide safety for our folks, is a coverage that encourages the Israeli occupier to commit extra crimes and violates worldwide legislation,” Abbas mentioned.
In his information convention, Blinken mentioned Washington’s fast precedence is “restoring calm” and defusing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians earlier than pushing in the direction of a long-term settlement.
Blinken added that he requested members of his workforce to remain within the area to assist with that intention.
The highest US diplomat didn’t point out Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a US citizen who was fatally shot by Israeli forces final yr, in public statements whereas in Israel.
Requested whether or not Blinken raised the killing of Abu Akleh with Israeli officers, a US Division of State spokesperson referred Al Jazeera to “public readouts” of the highest diplomat’s conferences. Obtainable readouts didn’t point out the slain journalist.
Blinken mentioned on Tuesday that he mentioned with Israeli officers deepening cooperation to counter Iran amid the stalling of diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that noticed Tehran cut back its nuclear programme in trade for the lifting of sanctions in opposition to its economic system.
“We continued what has been an ongoing dialogue of ways in which we will proceed to work collectively, collaborate — and never simply us, with different nations — in countering the malicious actions that Iran is engaged in, whether or not it’s on this area or past,” Blinken instructed reporters.