Blinken Conveys US Commitment to Israel, Denounces Settlement Annexation at AIPAC
Speaking at the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed the US’s commitment to achieving a two-state solution and cautioned that settlement expansion or annexation of the West Bank would be obstacles to peace.
He described settlement expansion as “an obstacle to the horizon of hope that we seek.”
“Any move toward annexation of the West Bank, de facto or de jure, disruption of the historic status quo at holy sites, the continuing demolitions of homes, and the evictions of families that have lived in those homes for generations, damage prospects for two states. They also undermine the basic daily dignity to which all people are entitled,” Blinken said.
The response was muted when Blinken criticized settlement expansion, but the audience warmed when the secretary of state affirmed the US’s commitment to Israel and to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Blinken also said the US would work to promote relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He will be in Saudi Arabia Tuesday through Thursday and will discuss normalization during that visit, he said.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington has not commented on Blinken’s statement.
