Biden says in opinion column that two-state solution ‘more imperative than ever’
Washington, Nov 18 (EFE).- The President of the United States, Joe Biden, published an opinion column in the Washington Post on Saturday saying that “our goal should not be simply to stop the war for today” but it should be “to end the war forever, break the cycle of unceasing violence.”
“A two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people. Though right now it may seem like that future has never been further away, this crisis has made it more imperative than ever,” he wrote.
Biden said achieving a two-state solution of “two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity” will require the commitment of Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the United States and its allies.
The US president said he and his country “stand firmly with the Israeli people as they defend themselves against the murderous nihilism of Hamas” but distanced himself from the plan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of possibly taking control of the Gaza Strip indefinitely.
Biden wrote that once Israel succeeds in defeating the islamist group that controls de facto ther Gaza Strip, both Gaza and the West Bank should be returned to the hands of the Palestinian Authority but “Gaza must never again be used as a platform for terrorism.”
At the same sime there should be “no forcible displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza, Biden said, and “no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no reduction in territory” by Israel.
He noted that he had warned Israeli authorities that “extremist violence” by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank must stop and threatened to impose sanctions on those responsible for the attacks.
Biden also called on the international community to establish a “reconstruction mechanism” for Gaza by the end of the war and to ensure that “no terrorist threats ever again emanate from Gaza or the West Bank.”
“If we can agree on these first steps and take them together, we can begin to imagine a different future,” he stressed.
The Biden administration has expressed its unwavering support for Israel in the war unleashed on Oct. 7, when militiamen from the armed wing of Hamas infiltrated Israeli territory, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 240 others.
Since then, the Israeli military has attacked Hamas-controlled Gaza by land, sea and air, leaving more than 11,300 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
In his column, Biden said he was “heartbroken” by the loss of Palestinian civilian lives, but again opposed a cease-fire because he believes it allow Hamas time to “rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again.” EFE
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