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- WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, reaffirming US support for a “twostate solution” in the region and asking the two to “restore calm.
- “Blinken spoke by telephone with both men to reaffirm US commitment to “a negotiated two-state solution and opposition to policies that endanger its viability,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
- “The Secretary underscored the urgent need for Israelis and Palestinians to take steps that restore calm and our strong opposition to unilateral measures that would further escalate tensions.
- ”That message followed a decision by Israel’s new hard-right government to give retroactive permission to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, a move that drew nearly unanimous criticism among major powers including the United States.
- The White House said Thursday it was “deeply dismayed” by the Israeli decision, but it nevertheless voiced opposition to a proposed UN Security Council resolution to demand Israel end settlements in the occupied territories.
- Blinken met with Abbas late last month in the West Bank at the end of an intense series of diplomatic meetings planned before the latest flare-up of violence. In their phone call, the two “discussed efforts to improve the quality of life of the Palestinian people and enhance their security and freedom,” Price said in a statement.
- Blinken and Netanyahu spoke about broader regional challenges, Price said, “including the threats posed by Iran,” and Blinken underscored the United States “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.
- ”Last year was the deadliest year in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking casualties there in 2005, and the deadly violence has continued this year.
