US President Barack Obama has told Haaretz that while he condemns violence by Palestinian youths, those Israelis who attack Palestinians must be brought to justice. Peace between Israel and the Palestinians is necessary, he added, “Because it’s the only way to ensure a secure and democratic future for the Jewish state of Israel.”
A senior adviser to Obama in the war against Daesh added that a solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict is the only way to get Arab countries to cooperate completely with Israel in the war against the extremist group. Speaking at the same Haaretz conference in New York, Robert Malley rejected Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon’s claim that America is “sitting on the fence” over Daesh. He said that Obama spends most of his time combatting the group and that there is ongoing and close intelligence with Israel in this regard.
Malley said that he expects the signing of a security memorandum of understanding between the US and Israel at the end of Obama’s term of office in the wake of the nuclear deal with Iran. He stressed that the “robust debate” between the two sides about Iran won’t have consequences for the US-Israel security relationship.
America’s Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, criticised the continued growth of Israeli settlements, stating that it raises questions about Israel’s long-term objectives. “The US will always continue working for a two-state solution,” she insisted, “opposing any efforts at the UN that undermine such a solution.”
Read: UK detains Israeli officer on charges of war crime
She went on to ask what the explanation is for settlement building in areas that will be part of the Palestinian state. “What do we say to those in the international community who are frustrated by the lack of a two-state solution?” There has not been “sufficient commitment” from either side to create conditions for peace, the ambassador added.