The US pledged to give “Israel means to defend itself”: Blinken | New Israel-Palestine Conflict

Facing an unprecedented critical wave and questions Regarding the sale of U.S. arms to Israeli lawmakers, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration is committed to “providing Israel with the means to defend itself.”

In one conversation With the ABC News program this week, Blinken said President Joe Biden has made clear his commitment to defending Israel, “especially with regard to these rocket attacks without discrimination against civilians.”

“Any country would respond to that and we are committed to Israel’s defense,” Blinken said Sunday. “At the same time, any arms sales will be consulted in full with Congress. We are committed to that. And we want to make sure that this process works effectively.”

Progressive U.S. lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, women Democrats in Congress he hit Biden’s campaign to bomb Israel’s Gaza Strip for his unwavering support of Israel.

Nearly 250 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed in 11 days The Israeli bombings in the besieged Palestinian territory, more than 1,900 others were injured and many critical buildings and infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.

In Israel, 12 people, including two children, were killed by a rocket.

U.S. lawmakers pressure Biden to call for immediate ceasefire to end violence, while criticizing statements They defend Israel’s “right to defend itself” from the White House and other senior government officials.

They too question a planned $ 735 million arms sale to the Israeli government was first reported in the Israeli military attack in Gaza.

“The United States should not sell rubber stamping weapons to the Israeli government, as it is expanding our resources to bomb international media, schools, hospitals, humanitarian missions and civilian sites,” Ocasio-Cortez announced on May 19, the day before Gaza ceasefire arrived.

New York lawmakers a resolution on the same day in an attempt to block the transfer of weapons to the US House of Representatives, and on May 20, Senator Bernie Sanders presented a similar resolution in the Senate.

At a time when U.S.-made bombs are destroying Gaza, and killing women and children, we can’t just leave another huge sale without a debate in Congress. https://t.co/nLoDFmLGr1

– Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 20, 2021

The Biden administration has emphasized that behind-the-scenes diplomacy has helped secure the Gaza ceasefire, and he committed To help rebuild the Palestinian enclave.

Experts have criticized this view, saying Israel only responds to pressure from the people and “the more Israel covets, sustains, maintains, the more Israeli and brave it becomes to make any concessions.”

It’s about shining was expected to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank next week continues to reflect the situation among Israel’s intentions expelled by force Occupied Palestinian families and Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem enters Al-Aqsa compound mosque.

The State Department said Blink would “meet in the coming days with Israeli, Palestinian and regional counterparts to discuss recovery efforts and work together to build a better future for Israel and Palestine.”

The U.S. secretary of state reaffirmed that message in an ABC News interview on Sunday, saying that “we need to start putting conditions in place that would allow both parties to participate in a meaningful and positive way for both states.”

“In the first case, we need to address this turn of violence – we have achieved a ceasefire – and now we need to address the humanitarian situation, tackle reconstruction and deepen our existing commitment to the Palestinians and Israelis,” Blinken said.

Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting on West Jerusalem, said what was missing in Blinken’s comments was “any suggestion that the U.S. would try to launch diplomacy,” as the Israel-Palestine issue has so far not been a priority for the Biden administration.

“Iran has focused on the nuclear deal, Afghanistan, China-Russia relations. And it may be that some administration has decided that after this conflict, things will be quiet in the coming months or maybe even years to come,” Bays said.

“But when will we see [Blinken] it will come in the coming days … whether the US is making an effort to actively start a kind of peace negotiation. “