[Published: Wednesday May 22 2024]
 Pro-Palestine protesters repeatedly interrupt Blinken in Senate
WASHINGTON, 22 May. - (ANA) - Furious protesters interrupted Antony Blinken in Congress on Tuesday as he faced criticism from the Right and Left over the United States’ Israel policy.
As Mr Blinken began his testimony before two committees in the Democrat-controlled Senate, protesters called him a war criminal and accused him of involvement in genocide.
Mr Blinken reiterated the support of Joe Biden’s administration for Israel, but insisted it was focused on easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and opposed an Israeli assault on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where over one million displaced people had taken shelter.
Palestinian state should be reached through negotiations, White House says
US President Joe Biden believes a Palestinian state should be achieved through “direct negotiations between parties, not unilateral recognition”, the White House said on Wednesday.
“The president is a strong supporter of a two-state solution and has been throughout his career,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said.
“He believes a Palestinian state should be realised through direct negotiations between the parties, not through unilateral recognition.”
No two-state solution without dialogue, Berlin says on Palestine
A German foreign ministry spokesperson stressed Berlin’s support for a “two-state solution” on Wednesday.
“An independent Palestinian state remains a firm goal of German foreign policy,” the spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin.
It comes as Spain, Hungary and Ireland announced that they would recognise the State of Palestine from 28 May.
They added that a “dialogue process” was needed for that goal.
‘Not right moment for France to recognise Palestinian state’
France’s foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, said that it was not a “taboo” to recognise a Palestinian state, but Paris considers that now is not the right moment to do so.
“Our position is clear: the recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France,” Ms Sejourne wrote in a statement.
“France does not consider that the conditions have been present to date for this decision to have a real impact in this process.” -(ANA) -
AB/ANA/22 May 2024 - - -
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