J Street is definitely growing more influential under a Democratic administration
Blinken started by praising Israel for holding “free and fair elections with robust participation,” adding that the US “fully respects the democratic choice of the Israeli people” and “again congratulates Bibi Netanyahu and welcomes his commitment to make this a government that, in his words, will work for the benefit of all residents of the State of Israel without exception.”
Perhaps as a signal to Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition partners, Blinken also went on to promise that the administration would judge the new government “by the policies it pursues rather than individual personalities.”
However, the secretary of state also made it crystal clear what kinds of policies will be a hard stop for the US: “any acts that undermine the prospects of the two-state solution, including but not limited to settlement expansion; move toward annexation of the West Bank; disruption to the historic status quo at holy sites; demolitions and evictions; and incitement to violence.”
He also praised the Abraham Accords, but immediately noted that “for all of its benefits, normalization between Israel and its neighbors is not the substitute for building peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Blinken also illustrated what this peace should look like: “two states based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps remains the best way to achieve our goal of Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security.”
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