Antony Blinken Visited the occupied lands amid the rising concerns over the recent escalations that left dozens dead on both sides.
US Secretary of State has criticized Israeli actions, such as settlement development and home demolition of buildings, as being harmful to the two-state solution in a rare instance of tacit criticism of Tel Aviv. Antony Blinken reiterated Washington’s “ironclad” support for Israel during a press conference after his visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
Blinken emphasized the importance of maintaining the “vision” of the two-state solution, saying Washington is dedicated to striving toward the lasting objective of securing that Palestinian and Israeli people enjoy equal proportions of liberty, safety, prosperity, equality, and respect.
In part of his remarks, Blinken reiterated that “the United States will continue to oppose anything that puts that goal further from reach, including but not limited to settlement expansion and the legalization of illegal outposts, moves towards annexation of the West Bank, disruption to the historic status quo on Jerusalem’s holy sites, demolitions and evictions and incitement and acquiescence to violence.”
Rights activists have long pleaded with US administration to put pressure on Tel Aviv to stop mistreating Palestinian people. The US actively works to thwart international attempts to condemn Israeli crimes, including at the UN, while giving Tel Aviv at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually.
Many analysts claim that the two-state solution is not feasible any more due to Israeli settlement policy. However, numerous US governments, including the incumbent, have reaffirmed their unwavering support for Israel.
Blinken reiterated the United States’ unwavering dedication to Israel’s security. Many blameless lives have been lost on both parties as a consequence of the growing wave of violence, according to Blinken’s Tuesday statement.
Rise of Violence
Blinken had a meeting in occupied Ramallah with the head of the Palestinian Authority. Ten Palestinians were slain by Israeli troops in the West Bank a few days ago, nine of whom were in the Jenin refugee camp.
Hours later, a Palestinian shooter killed seven Israelis in East Jerusalem, which is still under occupation.
Israel was charged with impeding the two-state solution and breaking global convention, according to a statement issued by Abbas’ office. Abbas stated that the events occur while Tel Aviv Israel pursues its unilateral activities, including settlement expansion programs, accelerating annexation, settler violence, without any deterrence or taking responsibility.
Abbas asserted that Tel Aviv kept “violating the historic status quo and breaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque… withholding funds, along with policies of ethnic cleansing and apartheid”.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a neofascist minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s ministry, toured the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex earlier in January. The move which was denounced as a “provocation” by Palestinian and Arab officials. This heightened hostility between Israeli and Palestinian groups.
Abbas made an oblique reference to US resistance to a diplomatic initiative by the Palestinians to demand justice for Israeli violations. Abbas believes that the ongoing resistance to the Palestinian people’s bid to safeguard their existence and their valid privileges in international conferences and courts is a strategy that inspires Israel to further commit offences and violate international regulations.
Blinken stated at his press conference that America’s top aim right now is to “restore calm” and prevent escalations between Israelis and Palestinian people before attempting to reach a long-term agreement. Blinken continued by saying that he asked some of his crew to remain in the area to assist in achieving that goal.
