US says violence in West Bank makes it difficult for Israel, Saudi Arabia to normalize relations

Blinken Criticizes Settlement Announcements, Says “Two-State Solution Is The Way Forward”

June 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the uptick in violence in the West Bank has made Washington’s efforts to push for an agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia “much more difficult, if not impossible.” “.

“We have conveyed to our friends and allies in Israel that if there is a fire in their backyard, it is going to be much more difficult, if not impossible, to deepen existing agreements and expand them to potentially include Saudi Arabia,” Blinken said during an event in New York organized by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Thus, he has indicated that this is a conversation that he recently had with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, and that he has also discussed “on several occasions” with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, while stressing that “no it is in the interest of Israel” that the situation remains as it is today.

Blinken has stressed that this is so “both because of the added level of difficulty involved in achieving or deepening normalization agreements and because of the practical consequences of, for example, Israel finding itself intentionally or accidentally responsible for a West Bank with three million Palestinians and half a million settlers”.

“What does that mean in terms of allocating resources, including security resources, that Israel needs in another case when there are concerns around Gaza, Lebanon or Iran?”, the president asked, referring to tensions with Palestinian armed groups. Shiite party-militia Hezbollah and the dispute with Tehran. “It doesn’t add up,” she warned.

On the other hand, he has maintained that “the question of the future of the Palestinian people” is added to this. “It is something that worries us deeply and we continue to firmly believe that the two-state solution is the way forward,” he defended, before insisting that “as distant as it may seem, it is tremendously important to maintain at least a horizon of hope for people that he doesn’t have much and while at least trying to improve his day to day”.

“We are working on it. We have brought together the people, Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, in Aqaba and Sharm al-Sheikh to try to find a way forward to, first of all, reduce some of the tensions and for both sides to avoid actions that are going to add fuel to the fire”, he said, referring to the multilateral summits in Jordan and Egypt.

In this sense, he has asserted that “it is a process underway” and has assessed that “there have been some successes, especially during the period of the Easter, Passover and Ramadan festivities”. “Now, however, we have seen that steps have been taken, including around the settlements, that are moving in the opposite direction,” she said.

Blinken’s words come in line with Washington’s criticism of the plans announced by Netanyahu to build thousands of housing units, amid an upsurge in violence that has resulted in the deaths of some 175 Palestinians and 25 Israelis in what so far this year, although it is feared that there may be a general outbreak of violence.

Tensions have spiked especially since June 19, when an Israeli army raid in Jenin left seven Palestinians dead — including two minors — and more than 90 wounded. Just a day later, four Israelis were killed in an attack near the Eli settlement.

In this context, hundreds of settlers carried out attacks against West Bank towns, events that resulted in the death of a Palestinian, while the Israeli Army killed three Palestinians –members of Islamic Jihad and the armed wing of Al Fatah– in a drone strike near Jenin.

ARMY CRITICISMS OF SETTLER ATTACKS

In fact, the head of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, reiterated on Wednesday his criticism of the attacks by settlers and maintained that “the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with an Army that defends and triumphs thanks to the professionalism of its soldiers and the leadership of their commanders.

“Terrorism and its difficult consequences lead some people to commit acts that are legally and ethically prohibited. An IDF officer standing by watching an Israeli citizen planning to launch Molotov cocktails at a Palestinian house cannot be an officer,” he criticized.

In this line, Halevi charged against the recent criticisms made by the Israeli Minister of National Missions, the far-right Orit Strock, against the leadership of the security forces, which he compared to the Wagner Group, statements that he later qualified to retract. from this end.

“Anyone who criticizes the IDF should remember that a subsequent apology does not remove the great harm caused. The IDF operates solely for the safety of civilians and that is where it derives its authority. Criticizing those who dedicate their lives to defending others harms the safety of civilians,” he settled.

NO DEAL IN SIGHT WITH IRAN

In another order of things, Blinken has qualified that, although contacts continue to try to reactivate in some way the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, “there is no agreement in sight”, although Washington “is willing to explore diplomatic channels” .

“We have a commitment that President (Joe) Biden adheres to firmly, which is that Iran not acquire nuclear weapons. We also believe that diplomacy is the most effective way to achieve this result (…), so we have followed this path”, he defended.

“We have tried to see if we could return to mutual compliance with the nuclear deal and we have made good faith efforts by working together with our European partners and, at this point, working together with China and Russia. When it seemed possible, Iran could not or would not do what is necessary to return to this compliance”, he detailed.

Blinken has stressed that “this goes back many, many months”, before pointing out that the United States “has been increasing its deterrence and working closely with partners in the region for this, in addition to adopting a series of varied measures to repel Iranian misbehavior in different areas”.

“I think that if Iran chooses to act or, rather, not act, to increase tensions not only with us, but with other countries, it is something that will be seen through its actions,” he concluded, amid reports about possible contacts for a “mini agreement” to replace the 2015 pact, seriously damaged by the decision of the United States to withdraw unilaterally denouncing breaches by Tehran.

In this sense, the White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, reportedly transferred a complaint to the Government of Israel in recent days for allegedly leaking information to the press regarding indirect contacts between the United States and Iran, according to sources. Americans and Israelis quoted by the Axios news portal.

Sullivan held a meeting with senior Israeli officials at the beginning of June to inform them about the content of the talks, after which information emerged in the press about the contacts and Netanyahu went so far as to convey in a closed-door meeting with parliamentarians that Washington was working on this “mini deal”.

For this reason, Sullivan would have transferred Washington’s “frustration” around Netanyahu’s statements, according to Israeli sources. Israel has criticized on several occasions the possibility of reactivating the nuclear agreement and has even threatened to carry out unilateral military operations against targets related to the Central Asian country’s nuclear program.