US President Joe Biden will talk “soon” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but has no specific plan to do so yet, the White House says, underlining an apparent distancing in the key relationship.
Three weeks into his presidency, Mr Biden has pointedly contacted more than a dozen traditional US allies but kept some leaders who were particularly cozy with his predecessor Donald Trump at arm’s length.
“The President looks forward to speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “He’ll be talking with him soon. I don’t have a specific date or time for you on that call.’’
Ms Psaki noted the “important relationship” and called Israel “a key partner.’’.
In a return to the traditional US stance before Mr Trump, the State Department made clear its opposition to further Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.
“It is critical to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and that undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “Unilateral steps might include annexation of territory, settlement activity, demolitions, incitement to violence, the provision of compensation for individuals in prison for acts of terrorism,” he said, also referring to the Palestinians’ controversial fund that pays inmates in Israeli incarceration or their families.
Mr Price also said there had been no changes in one of the symbolic moves by Mr Trump, who allowed US citizens to write “Jerusalem, Israel” in their passports if they were born in the contested holy city.
Read the article in The Australian (AFP).