Agence France-Presse
December 05, 2022
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, seen in March 2021 during a visit to Alaska (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed Sunday to oppose Israeli settlements or annexation in the West Bank, but promised to judge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming government by actions and not personalities.
Netanyahu is expected to return to power after sealing a coalition deal with the extreme-right movements including Religious Zionism, which will be given a post in charge of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking to J Street, a progressive pro-Israel US advocacy group, Blinken offered congratulations to the veteran Israeli leader, who has clashed with previous Democratic administrations in Washington.
"We will gauge the government by the policies it pursues rather than individual personalities," Blinken said.
But he said President Joe Biden's administration would work "relentlessly" to preserve a "horizon of hope," however dim, for the creation of a Palestinian state.
"We will also continue to unequivocally oppose any 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," Blinken said.
Blinken said that the Biden administration will insist on "core democratic principles including respect to the rights of LGBTQ people and the equal administration of justice for all citizens of Israel."
The far-right groups in Netanyahu's coalition will include Noam, whose leader Avi Maoz is staunchly opposed to LGBTQ rights.
Netanyahu quickly said that Jerusalem's Pride march will continue, contradicting Maoz who has vowed to cancel it.
Religious Zionism's leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is expected to have a key role, is a staunch advocate of Jewish settlements and used to hang in his living room a portrait of Baruch Goldstein, who massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers at a Hebron mosque in 1994.
The November 1 election was Israel's fifth in less than four years and came after the collapse of a motley coalition that tried to keep out the scandal-plagued Netanyahu.
© Agence France-Presse
Florida Gov. DeSantis: West Bank ‘Not Occupied Territory’
by Andrew Bernard
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses a crowd at the US Embassy in Israel on May 28, 2019.
by Andrew Bernard
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses a crowd at the US Embassy in Israel on May 28, 2019.
Photo: Governor’s Press Office.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday told the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) leadership conference that the West Bank was “disputed,” not “occupied,” territory.
“I don’t care what the State Department says, they are not occupied territory, it is disputed territory,” DeSantis said of the West Bank, which he referred to as Judea and Samaria. “Because we understand history, we know those are thousands of years of connection to the Jewish people.”
The status of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza has been a point of contention in US foreign policy in recent years. For decades, the State Department referred to them collectively as “occupied” territories until the Trump administration removed that designation from annual human rights reports and other statements. The Biden administration resumed referring to the West Bank as occupied, citing longstanding bipartisan precedent. Israel disputes the characterization.
DeSantis’ keynote address to the RJC’s annual leadership conference in Las Vegas follows his nearly 20-point reelection in the Florida governor’s race and speculation that he will run for the Presidency in 2024. DeSantis touted policy successes that benefited Israel and the Jewish community in Florida including improved Holocaust education standards, legislation to combat antisemitism on college campuses, and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Other speakers at the conference included former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former President Donald Trump, who announced his 2024 candidacy last week. Speaking remotely on Saturday, Trump said if the 2020 election result had not been a “sham” and he had remained president, then Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians would have joined the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain, and were later joined by Morocco. “We could have truly had peace in the Middle East,” Trump said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday told the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) leadership conference that the West Bank was “disputed,” not “occupied,” territory.
“I don’t care what the State Department says, they are not occupied territory, it is disputed territory,” DeSantis said of the West Bank, which he referred to as Judea and Samaria. “Because we understand history, we know those are thousands of years of connection to the Jewish people.”
The status of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza has been a point of contention in US foreign policy in recent years. For decades, the State Department referred to them collectively as “occupied” territories until the Trump administration removed that designation from annual human rights reports and other statements. The Biden administration resumed referring to the West Bank as occupied, citing longstanding bipartisan precedent. Israel disputes the characterization.
DeSantis’ keynote address to the RJC’s annual leadership conference in Las Vegas follows his nearly 20-point reelection in the Florida governor’s race and speculation that he will run for the Presidency in 2024. DeSantis touted policy successes that benefited Israel and the Jewish community in Florida including improved Holocaust education standards, legislation to combat antisemitism on college campuses, and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Other speakers at the conference included former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former President Donald Trump, who announced his 2024 candidacy last week. Speaking remotely on Saturday, Trump said if the 2020 election result had not been a “sham” and he had remained president, then Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians would have joined the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain, and were later joined by Morocco. “We could have truly had peace in the Middle East,” Trump said.
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