Moscow, May 23 (Representative) Washington considers a two-state solution the only proper solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although it is not “necessarily for today,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday. “President [Joe] Biden has been very clear that he remains committed to a two-state solution. Ultimately it is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, and…the only way to give Palestinians the state to which they’re entitled. That’s where we have to go. But, I don’t think is something necessarily for today,” Blinken told ABC News.
Blinken went on to further defend Biden’s “quiet” diplomacy, stressing that the most important goal was to get a ceasefire and stop the violence as soon as possible. The current task, according to the state secretary, is to urgently deal with the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and start rebuilding the lost infrastructure. The Egypt-brokered ceasefire was announced on Thursday, after 11 days of violence between Israel and Palestine-based Hamas movement that left 240 Palestinians, including 60 children, and a dozen Israeli citizens dead. The hostilities followed several days of clashes between the Arab population and the Israeli police in East Jerusalem over an Israeli court’s decision to evict several Palestinian families from the area.
During the hot stage of the conflict, the US vetoed at least four UN statements on Israel calling for the cessation of all violence, saying it could “interfere” with the Biden administration’s efforts to end the hostilities.