While pledging that the US will always support Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also asserted that the Palestinians had “legitimate aspirations” that were not represented by the militant organization Hamas.
You could defend yourself on your own if you’re strong enough. You won’t need to, though, so long as America is around. In the midst of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Blinken assured Netanyahu that “we will always be by your side.”
“But you won’t have to for as long as America endures. We’ll be by your side constantly. “
As the Israeli army continues to punish Hamas for the weekend attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead, Blinken paid a solidarity visit. He also provided a new death toll for US citizens, stating that at least 25 of them were confirmed to be among the victims.
President Joe Biden has vowed to support Israel without wavering and has not urged restraint against Hamas, but Blinken suggested the need for a final peace agreement—a position that right-wing Netanyahu has long opposed.
“Everyone must denounce Hamas’ reign of terror if they desire peace and justice. We are aware that Hamas does not speak for the Palestinian people or their rightful aspirations to live in safety, freedom, justice, opportunity, and dignity, Blinken said.
Blinken described his grandfather’s escape from anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia and his stepfather’s survival of Nazi concentration camps in unusually personal terms.
Blinken, who has a secular background, said: “I come before you not only as the Secretary of State of the United States, but also as a Jew.
“I also stand before you as a husband and a father of young children. “It’s impossible for me to look at the pictures of families who were killed and not think of my own children, like the mother, father, and three young children who were murdered while hiding in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz,” he said.
Blinken pledged that the Biden administration and Congress would collaborate to grant Israel’s military requests, which are widely supported across partisan lines.
“We will work with Congress to ensure that Israel’s defense needs are met as they change, he said.
Netanyahu, who was speaking next to Blinken, expressed gratitude for US support and argued that Hamas, which controls the blockaded Gaza Strip, ought to be dealt with similarly to the Islamic State organization.
“Hamas will be crushed in the same way that ISIS was. Similarly to how ISIS was handled, Netanyahu said, Hamas must be dealt with.
AFP.
