By i24news.tv
US President Joe Biden on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to the security of Israel and said that peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved until countries in the region recognize the Jewish state’s right to exists.
“There is no change in my commitment to the security of Israel, period. No change at all,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House along with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in.
“My party still supports Israel,” he insisted, and “let’s make it clear: until the region unequivocally recognizes Israel’s right to exist as an independent Jewish state, there will be no peace.”
“The change is that we still need a two-state solution. It is the only solution,” said the Democratic president, a day after the announcement of a ceasefire ending eleven days of fighting between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Biden also said he wants to present a “major” financial aid package along with the international community to “rebuild Gaza” but “without giving Hamas the opportunity to rebuild its weapons system/”
At the same time, he called on the Israelis to end the “intercommunal fighting” in the city of Jerusalem, “by extremists on both sides.”
“I let the Israelis know that I considered it very important that they put an end to these clashes in Jerusalem between communities which are being carried out by extremists on both sides,” he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit the Middle East “in the next few days,” according to a State Department statement on Thursday.
