From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
US slams Smotrich’s vow to annex parts of West Bank following Trump’s win
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel condemns far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s pledge to annex large parts of the West Bank following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory last week.
“The comments that were made by this minister certainly are not conducive to building an enduring peace, and they are incredibly inconsistent with the principles that Secretary Blinken laid out in Tokyo,” Patel says during a press briefing, referring to the Biden administration’s efforts to advance a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines following the war in Gaza.
“President Biden and Secretary Blinken have reiterated consistently the clear position of the United States in support of a two-state solution as part of a negotiated process that ultimately will provide an independent Palestinian state, with appropriate security guarantees for Israel,” Patel adds.
