Blinken says Israel cannot achieve “genuine security” without a pathway to a Palestinian state, insisting such a move could help unify the Middle East and isolate Israel’s top rival: Iran.
By JAMEY KEATEN (Associated Press)
DAVOS, Switzerland U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Israel cannot achieve “genuine security” without a pathway to a Palestinian state, insisting such a move could help unify the Middle East and isolate Israel’s top rival: Iran.
Speaking at World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Blinken said the view of leaders in the Arab and Muslim world have changed on Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state would help Israel integrate in the region.
“The problem is getting from here to there, and of course, it requires very difficult, challenging decisions. It requires a mindset that is open to that perspective,” Blinken said.
The Biden administration has been at pains to navigate between longtime U.S. support for Israel and growing concerns that too many Palestinian civilians have been killed or injured in Israel’s war against Hamas since its deadly Oct. 7 rampage in Israel. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Blinken reiterated the need for a “pathway to a Palestinian state” and said Israel would not “get genuine security absent that.”
His comments came as Iran’s foreign minister graced the same hallways of the glitzy event in the Alpine snows: Hossein Amirabdollahian warned that fighting could intensify in the region if Israel doesn’t end its campaign.
“Today, we are witnessing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, this means that war is ongoing, so there is possibility of extension,“ Amirabdollahian said in a separate Q&A session. He didn’t meet with Blinken.
The top Iranian diplomat also acknowledged a missile strike Tuesday on Pakistan, calling it part of a fight against “terrorism,” and said Iran targeted Israeli sites in Iraq this week — moves that threaten to further ignite violence in the Middle East. The governments of Pakistan and Iraq both criticized the action directed by Tehran.
