Biden’s Top Diplomat: U.S. to Keep Embassy in al-Quds
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden will keep the U.S. embassy in the occupied territories in al-Quds, his nominee for secretary of state affirmed at his Senate confirmation hearing.
"Do you agree that Jerusalem (al-Quds) is the capital of Israel and do you commit that the United States will keep our embassy in Jerusalem?” asked Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
"Yes and Yes,” said Antony Blinken in testimony on Tuesday.
Outgoing President Donald Trump announced the U.S. recognition of al-Quds as the Zionist regime’s ‘capital’ in December 2017. The U.S. moved its embassy to the occupied territories from Tel Aviv to al-Quds in May of the following year.
Al-Quds remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with the Palestinian Authority (PA) insisting that East al-Quds– illegally occupied by the Zionist regime since 1967 – should serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
"The only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state and to give the Palestinians a state to which they are entitled is through the so-called two-state solution,” Blinken said.
"I think realistically, it’s hard to see near-term prospects for moving forward on that. What would be important is to make sure that neither party takes steps that make the already difficult process even more challenging,” he added.
There has been no comment yet from the Palestinian leadership.
Lama Khater, a journalist based in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil, wrote in a Twitter post: "Everything is subject to change in the agendas of successive U.S. administrations, except for absolute loyalty to Israel”.
The Trump administration has been unabashed in its open support for the Zionist regime.
The past four years have entrenched U.S. favoritism for the Zionist regime through policies such as cutting off U.S. aid to the PA and withdrawing funding to the UN refugee agency on which millions of Palestinians depend for education, food and livelihoods.
Going against international consensus, the Trump administration recognized the Zionist regime’s so-called ‘sovereignty’ over al-Quds and the occupied Golan Heights and declared that settlement building is not illegal.
Nearly 500,000 Zionists live in settlements in the occupied West Bank. In recent years settlement expansion has intensified, threatening the viability of an independent Palestinian state.
While Biden has indicated that his administration will restore Washington’s pre-Trump policy of opposing settlement expansion, he nonetheless claims "ironclad support” for the occupying regime.
"Do you agree that Jerusalem (al-Quds) is the capital of Israel and do you commit that the United States will keep our embassy in Jerusalem?” asked Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
"Yes and Yes,” said Antony Blinken in testimony on Tuesday.
Outgoing President Donald Trump announced the U.S. recognition of al-Quds as the Zionist regime’s ‘capital’ in December 2017. The U.S. moved its embassy to the occupied territories from Tel Aviv to al-Quds in May of the following year.
Al-Quds remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with the Palestinian Authority (PA) insisting that East al-Quds– illegally occupied by the Zionist regime since 1967 – should serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
"The only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state and to give the Palestinians a state to which they are entitled is through the so-called two-state solution,” Blinken said.
"I think realistically, it’s hard to see near-term prospects for moving forward on that. What would be important is to make sure that neither party takes steps that make the already difficult process even more challenging,” he added.
There has been no comment yet from the Palestinian leadership.
Lama Khater, a journalist based in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil, wrote in a Twitter post: "Everything is subject to change in the agendas of successive U.S. administrations, except for absolute loyalty to Israel”.
The Trump administration has been unabashed in its open support for the Zionist regime.
The past four years have entrenched U.S. favoritism for the Zionist regime through policies such as cutting off U.S. aid to the PA and withdrawing funding to the UN refugee agency on which millions of Palestinians depend for education, food and livelihoods.
Going against international consensus, the Trump administration recognized the Zionist regime’s so-called ‘sovereignty’ over al-Quds and the occupied Golan Heights and declared that settlement building is not illegal.
Nearly 500,000 Zionists live in settlements in the occupied West Bank. In recent years settlement expansion has intensified, threatening the viability of an independent Palestinian state.
While Biden has indicated that his administration will restore Washington’s pre-Trump policy of opposing settlement expansion, he nonetheless claims "ironclad support” for the occupying regime.