US President Joe Biden on way to Israel
Blinken: President will back Israel’s obligation to tackle Hamas; Israel to develop plan with US for humanitarian aid for Gazans; White House: No conditions on Israel military aid
TIMES OF ISRAEL, AFP – US President Joe Biden was to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, in the latest demonstration of Washington’s overwhelming support following the October 7 Hamas onslaught.
It comes after a passionate speech last week in which he expressed his horror over the brutal assault, winning over Israelis across the political spectrum.
“He’s coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region and for the world,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a brief statement to the press at the US embassy’s Tel Aviv branch office, after concluding an eight-hour meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet at the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters nearby.
Biden is expected to meet with Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and some of the families of the hostages and the missing.
The president will be in Israel for several hours, after which he will fly to Jordan to will participate in a four-way summit hosted by King Abdullah, also including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. “He will reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discuss the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza,” the White House said.
Blinken said Biden will use the trip to Israel to reaffirm US “solidarity with Israel” along with Washington’s commitment to the Jewish state’s security.
Biden will declare that Israel has an “obligation” to defend itself and act to prevent future attacks, Blinken said, indicating that Jerusalem has a significant degree of freedom to operate, as far as the US is concerned.
The US president will use the trip to hear from Israel what military assistance it needs to hit back against Hamas, according to Blinken. Biden will also re-issue his warning against state and non-state actors joining Hamas in the fighting.
The president will discuss efforts to secure the immediate release of the 200 to 250 hostages being held by terror groups in Gaza.
Blinken announced that the US and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the US helped defeat a Russian-backed Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war.
The US announced last Saturday that it was sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”.
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