Earlier this week, the newly sworn-in US President Joe Biden’s nominee for US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken indicated that the US embassy would remain in Jerusalem, supporting Israel’s stance on the disputed city.
what came as a set back for Palestinian rights, Palestinian leaders have condemned Blinken’s remarks who believe that the position of the US will be more or less the same under President Joe Biden as that of former President Donald Trump.
In this regard Palestinian journalist Lama Khater tweeted: “Everything is subject to change in the agendas of successive U.S. administrations, except for absolute loyalty to Israel.”
A Republican Senator on Tuesday had asked the secretary of state nominee about the new administration’s stance on ‘Jerusalem as the capital of Israel’ and keeping the US embassy in the contested city, to which the nominee replied affirmatively.
In December 2017, the former US president Donald Trump had announced the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and shifted its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018.
President Biden has been seen reversing or revoking major Trump’s policies during his early days in power, however, he seems continuing that one.
Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as their capital which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
However, it is being believed that the Biden administration is inclined towards the two-state solution – to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state and to give the Palestinians a state to which they are entitled.
