Sec of State Blinken Defends Biden Admin’s ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ on Israel: ‘Got Us to Where We Needed to Be’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration’s diplomatic approach in an interview on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken joined George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week, who startd by asking him, “Has anything really changed? What’s to prevent this cycle of violence from kicking up again, maybe very soon?”
“It was critical to get to the ceasefire,” Blinken said, “and President Biden’s focus on relentless, determined, but quiet diplomacy is what got us to where we needed to be, which is to get the violence ended as quickly as possible, to stop more human suffering, and to at least put ourselves in position to make a turn, to make a pivot to building something more positive.”
Blinken stressed that conflict has resulted in a “grave humanitarian situation” in Gaza, but the White House is working to engage with the Israelis and the Palestinians so that both sides “can live with equal measures of security, of peace and dignity.” This led to Stephanopoulos asking Blinken if a two-state solution is even possible since “it doesn’t seem like efforts have created much fruit in the past.”
“President Biden has been very clear he remains committed to a two-state solution,” Blinken answered. “Ultimately it is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, and the only way to give Palestinians the state to which they’re entitled.”
The interview continued with Blinken condemning Hamas’ “gross mismanagement” while Stephanopoulos questioned him on how the administration can pursue reconstruction in the region while Hamas is still in control of it. Blinken was also pressed for the White House’s response to progressive critics objecting to the U.S.’s backing of Israel amid alleged abuses of human rights for Palestinians.
“We got to the result thanks to President Biden’s relentless focus on this quiet, but I think effective, diplomacy in getting to a ceasefire and stopping the violence in 11 days,” Blinken said. “If you go back and look at previous crises, they’ve lasted a lot longer. But of course, every single day that these things go on, we see a tremendous loss in human life and human suffering, and we’re determined to bring that to an end.”
Watch above, via ABC.
