In an opinion article published in The Washington Post, Joe Biden writes that Gaza and the West Bank should remain in the hands of the Palestinian National Authority once Israel has succeeded in defeating Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“The two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. While it may seem like a long shot now, this crisis has made this more necessary than ever,” he said.
According to Biden, the commitment of Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the United States and its allies, is necessary to achieve a two-state solution, which can live side by side on equal terms of “freedom and dignity.”
“This work must start now,” he argued.
The Democratic leader again distanced himself from the plan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who raised the possibility of taking control of the Gaza Strip indefinitely.
For Biden, there should be no “forced relocation” of Palestinians from Gaza, nor a “reoccupation, siege, blockade or reduction of the territory” of the Gaza Strip by Israel.
For the White House, Gaza and the West Bank “must be brought together under a single government structure, and ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian National Authority.”
The US president recalled that he had warned Israeli authorities that settlers’ “extremist violence” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank must stop and threatened to impose sanctions on those responsible for the attacks.
Biden also called on the international community to establish “a reconstruction mechanism” in Gaza until the end of the war and ensure that “terrorist threats never recur” in the Palestinian territories.
“If we agree on these first steps and take them together, we can start to imagine a different future,” he emphasized.
Joe Biden’s administration expressed its unwavering support for Israel in the war that began on October 7, when members of the armed wing of Hamas, an organization considered terrorist by the European Union and the United States, infiltrated Israeli territory, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping even more. of 240.
Since then, the Israeli army has attacked the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas Islamists, on land, sea and in the air, killing more than 11,300 people and displacing thousands internally.
In the article, Biden said he was “devastated” by the loss of Palestinian civilian lives, but again opposed a ceasefire because he believes Hamas would use it to “rebuild its arsenal” and launch new attacks on Israel to prepare.
Source: DN
