By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. president Joe Biden believes a Palestinian state should be achieved through negotiations, not unilateral recognition, the White House said Wednesday after Ireland, Spain and Norway said they would recognize a Palestinian state this month.
Washington’s response appeared to signal US dismay that the three European countries had announced their intention to go ahead with the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, which in practice does not exist.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a regular news briefing that each country could make its own decision on recognizing a Palestinian state, but that Biden believes direct negotiations between the parties are the best approach.
“President Biden believes that a two-state solution that guarantees Israel’s security, as well as a future of dignity and security for the Palestinian people, is the best way to achieve long-term security and stability for everyone in the region,” Sullivan said .
“President Biden … has equally emphasized that that two-state solution must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through unilateral recognition.”
Sullivan was asked whether the United States was concerned that other countries would follow suit in recognizing a Palestinian state. He said the US would communicate its consistent position to its partners, “see what unfolds.”
WAR IN GAZA
Decades of American efforts have failed to achieve a “two-state solution,” with Israel living alongside a Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, ruled by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Gaza, ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement since it took possession of the coastal areas. withdraw from the PA during a brief civil war in 2007.
Israel began an offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, health officials in the Hamas-run enclave say.
Israel is now attacking Rafah in southern Gaza, saying it wants to wipe out Hamas militants. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Rafah since the attack began, and main aid routes into Gaza have been blocked.
Sullivan said he was briefed on Israeli plans to minimize civilian damage in Rafah during a weekend visit to the region. Washington will consider whether the attack causes widespread death and destruction or is more precise and proportionate.
“We now have to see what unfolds from here,” he said.
He said aid was pouring in from a pier in Gaza, and that it was wrong for Israel to withhold money from the West Bank.
The Biden administration also hopes to reach a settlement that will lead Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations. As part of that process, Saudi Arabia has demanded an end to the conflict in Gaza and a path toward a Palestinian state, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may find difficult to accept.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Nandita Bose and David Brunnstrom; Writing by Doina Chiacu, Arshad Mohammed and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
