US again refrains from committing to Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem

US State Department spokesman Ned Price avoids giving a US commitment that the capital of a future Palestinian state will be in East Jerusalem.

Pressed on the matter at the daily press briefing, Price dodges and instead regurgitates an old statement offering support for a two-state solution.

“The Biden administration believes that the two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state while living in peace alongside a viable and democratic Palestinian state. That is precisely why the two-state solution continues to be the crux of how we view the conflict and where we believe — and how we believe the conflict should be resolved,” he says.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, Feb. 2, 2021. (Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the matter during a CNN interview earlier this month and similarly avoided answering.

“Look, what we have to see happen is for the parties to get together directly and negotiate these so-called final status issues. That’s the objective. And as I said, we’re unfortunately a ways away from that at this point in time,” Blinken said then.