WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday a “path toward peace” must be forged once the Israel-Gaza crisis concludes, with independent states for the Israelis and Palestinians and an integration of Israel among its Arab neighbours.
Biden opened a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by saying U.S. support for Israel’s defense was ironclad, but the parties needed to think about a way forward in the region once the Gaza crisis was resolved.
“Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity and peace,” Biden said.
“When this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next. And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution. It means a concentrated effort from all the parties – Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders – to put us on a path toward peace,” Biden said.
Biden said he believed one reason Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,400 people on Oct. 7, was to prevent normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israeli airstrikes in retaliation have killed over 6,500 people, the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said on Wednesday. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the casualty figures of either side.
Biden said he had “no notion” that the Palestinians were telling the truth about how many had been killed.
“I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” he said. “I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.”
Biden did not elaborate but also expressed concern about treatment of Palestinians by some Israelis.
“I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank,” Biden said, accusing them of pouring gasoline on a fire. “They’re attacking Palestinians in places that they’re entitled to be, and it has to stop.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, called Biden’s remarks about Palestinian casualties “dehumanizing.”
“President Biden should apologize for his comments, condemn the Israeli government for deliberately targeting civilians, and demand a ceasefire before more innocent people die,” CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
