the balancing act of Anthony Blinken, head of American diplomacy

Anthony Blinken announced that he wanted to ask the Israelis for concrete measures to limit civilian casualties in Gaza. “We support humanitarian pauses (…) to ensure that aid reaches those who need it, that foreigners can leave Gaza and that hostages are released.”, explains the spokesperson for the State Department. “On the other hand, we do not agree with the ceasefire“, he indicates. According to him, only Israel would respect the ceasefire, unlike Hamas which would take advantage of it to “recover your strength.”

US holds out hope for two-state solution

Asked about the growing concern in the West Bank, the spokesperson reiterated the position of the US government: “President Biden has made this clear to our Israeli allies. They must do more to stop settlers in the West Bank.” in order to “don’t add fuel to the fire.” He assures that the United States does not support the displacement of the Palestinian population and is in favor of a two-state solution. “This is the only way to ensure that Israel remains a democratic Jewish state and its security, and for Palestinians to achieve the state to which they are entitled and the self-determination they have demanded for decades.“, he concludes.