Matthew Lee | Related Press
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated Sunday that the US won’t abandon its unwavering help for Israel, regardless of sharp disagreements with Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and issues the Biden administration might have about potential members of his new right-wing authorities.
Talking to a gaggle on the left accused by some on the proper of being overly sympathetic to the Palestinians and Iran, Blinken stated the USA would stay a real good friend of Israel even because it pursues objectives that Netanyahu opposed, together with two-state creation. the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian battle and the resumption of the protracted 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
“The partnership between the USA and Israel — and every thing it produces for the individuals of our nations and the world — has at all times been underpinned by the unwavering dedication of the USA to the safety of Israel, a dedication that has by no means been stronger than in the present day,” he stated. stated.
Blinken stated the Biden administration would have interaction with the Netanyahu authorities based mostly on its insurance policies, not personalities, together with would-be senior cupboard ministers who’ve expressed vehemently anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab views up to now.
However Blinken additionally warned that the US would object to insurance policies that marginalize the Palestinians, cut back their “horizon of hope” or make the two-state answer harder. He stated it might hurt Israel’s long-term safety or the way forward for a Jewish democratic state.
“We count on the brand new Israeli authorities to proceed to work with us to advance our widespread values, similar to earlier governments,” he stated.
“We’ll decide the federal government by the insurance policies it’s pursuing, not by people. We’ll adhere to the mutual requirements that now we have established in our relationship over the previous seven many years,” Blinken stated.
US officers have beforehand expressed concern about doable positions within the Netanyahu authorities by a minimum of two right-wing Israeli politicians: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Ben-Gvir, an MP recognized for his anti-Arab rhetoric and provocative escapades, has been provided the publish of Minister of Nationwide Safety, a strong place that may put him accountable for the Israeli police. In the meantime, Smotrich, chief of the anti-Palestinian and anti-gay Spiritual Zionist get together, has been requested to go Israel’s civil affairs company for Palestine.
Blinken stated the US-Israel relationship is now seven many years outdated, and the Biden administration might be “sincere” with the brand new Israeli authorities, in addition to with the Palestinians, whose leaders, he stated, must also chorus from escalating tensions that jeopardize the choice to creation of two states.
He identified that the Biden administration continues to help the popularity of Jerusalem because the capital of Israel by its predecessor and is working to develop former President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords, below which a number of Arab nations normalized relations with Israel. He welcomed the current conclusion of a maritime boundary settlement between Israel and Lebanon.
Blinken’s feedback got here on the annual convention of J Avenue, a pro-Israel group that differed from the a lot bigger and older American Israel Public Affairs Committee in that it promoted positions usually espoused by the Democratic Get together.
