WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Sunday the U.S. is not going to shrink from its unwavering help for Israel regardless of stark variations with Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and considerations the Biden administration could have about potential members of his incoming right-wing authorities.
Speaking to a left-leaning group that some on the suitable accuse of being too sympathetic to the Palestinians and Iran, Blinken mentioned the United States will stay a stalwart pal of Israel even because it pursues targets that Netanyahu has opposed, together with a two-state decision to the Israeli-Palestinian battle and a restoration of the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The U.S.-Israel “partnership — and all that it’s produced for the people of our nations and the world — has always been underwritten by the United States ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, a commitment that has never been stronger than it is today,” he mentioned.
Blinken mentioned the Biden administration would interact with Netanyahu’s authorities based mostly on its insurance policies and never on personalities, together with potential senior Cabinet ministers who’ve expressed vehement anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab views up to now.
But, Blinken additionally warned that the U.S. would object to insurance policies that marginalize the Palestinians, diminish their “horizon for hope,” or make a two-state decision harder. He mentioned these can be detrimental to Israel’s long-term safety or future as a Jewish democratic state.
“We expect the new Israeli government to continue to work with us to advance our shared values, just as we have previous governments,” he mentioned.
“We will gauge the government by the policies it pursues rather than individual personalities. We will hold it to the mutual standards we have established in our relationship over the past seven decades,” Blinken mentioned.
U.S. officers have beforehand expressed considerations concerning the potential positions in Netanyahu’s authorities of not less than two right-wing Israeli politicians: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Ben-Gvir, a lawmaker identified for anti-Arab vitriol and provocative stunts, has been provided the job of nationwide safety minister, a strong place that can put him accountable for Israel’s police power. Meanwhile, Smotrich, chief of the Religious Zionism social gathering, which shares anti-Palestinian and anti-gay views, has been provided oversight over the Israeli company for Palestinian civil affairs.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”