Biden will support two-state solution where Israel lives ‘peacefully’ alongside Palestine, US envoy tells UN
New US President Joe Biden supports a two-state solution in an attempt to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the acting US Ambassador to the UN, Richard Mills, told the Security Council on Tuesday.
“Under the new administration, the policy of the US will be to support a mutually agreed two-state solution in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state,” Mills said.
The acting UN envoy added that US policy remains the “best way” to ensure Israel’s future as a democratic and Jewish state, while guaranteeing peace and security for Palestine, although success is dependent on the engagement of both sides.
Mills pledged that the US would call on the two nations to halt tactics such as the annexation of territory, settlement activities and the incitement of violence.
Biden, Mills said, would also restore Palestinian aid and move to re-open diplomatic missions closed by former US President Donald Trump, while maintaining its “steadfast support for Israel.”
He added that the Biden administration “welcomes” the Trump-authored normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab, Muslim-majority nations, including the UAE, Sudan, Morocco and Bahrain.
The landmark normalization agreement – called the Abraham Accords – was signed in the summer of 2020 and was a major feature of Trump’s Middle East Policy.
Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights territory during his tenure, which the Trump administration recognized as Israeli, in contravention of the UN Security Council.
Biden’s pick for secretary of state Antony Blinken confirmed last week that the new president would keep the US embassy in Israel in Jerusalem.
It had been moved to the city from Tel Aviv after Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in 2017, sparking huge protests along the Gaza border and condemnation from other world leaders on the UN Security Council.
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