Blinken: US will judge Netanyahu government according to actions

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Dec 2022 12:17
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The US Secretary of State hails US military aid to the Israeli occupation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP Photo)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that US President Joe Biden's administration will judge the coming Israeli government based on the policies that it implements rather than on individual personalities.

In a keynote address at the annual conference of the J Street conference in Washington, Blinken said the Biden administration will "gauge the government by the policies and procedures, rather than individual personalities."

"We will hold to the… standards we’ve established in our relationship over the past several decades. And we will speak honestly and respectfully with our Israeli friends as partners always should," he indicated.

Israeli news website The Times of "Israel" said Blinken's remarks "come amid speculation that Biden officials will not engage with some of the most far-right members of Israel’s emerging government, such as Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich, who is slated to become finance minister, and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir, who is set to become national security minister."

The top US diplomat said, "We know that at this moment prospects for a two-state solution feel remote — that may be an understatement," expressing the administration's opposition to "acts that undermine the prospects of a two-state solution, including, but not limited to, settlement expansion, moves toward annexation of the West Bank, disruption to the historic status quo of holy sites, demolitions and evictions, and incitement to violence." Nevertheless, US aid to the Israeli occupation continues, with complete disregard for the daily killings "Israel" carries out, without any condemnation or accountability whatsoever.

Blinken hailed US military aid to the Israeli occupation, adding that "it’s vital to preserving Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state. The United States continues to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital."

Elsewhere, the US Secretary of State rejected the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and efforts to single out the Israeli occupation at the United Nations.

He pointed to the deals brokered by the Biden administration, such as the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation, as well as an island swap between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which led Riyadh to agree to open its skies to Israeli airlines.

Blinken also reaffirmed the US administration’s commitment to expanding the so-called "Abraham Accords", which normalized relations between "Israel" and several Arab states.