Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the Biden administration’s support for a two-state solution in the Middle East, calling it the only way forward for both Israel and Palestine.
“Ultimately, it is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state and, of course, the only way to give Palestinians the state to which they’re entitled,” Blinken said Sunday on ABC News’s This Week.
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Blinken’s comments come amid a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas after roughly two weeks of violence in the Gaza Strip.
The secretary of state said he felt Thursday’s ceasefire was “critical” for the United States “to make a pivot to building something more positive” in the region.
Escalated violence between Israel and Palestinian armed groups left more than 250 people dead and hundreds injured. Airstrikes began after Hamas fired rockets from Gaza into Israel on May 10 following what the Palestinian side took as several aggressive acts by Israeli officials, including the eviction of Palestinian families in an east Jerusalem neighborhood.
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Blinken will travel to the region this week to meet with Palestinian, Israeli, and regional counterparts for relief effort talks.
