Biden Reaffirms Support For Israel After Gaza Ceasefire

These answers specifically related to Israel are excerpted from a press conference held with the president of South Korea following the end of fighting during Operation Guardian of the Wall.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you. Well, first question, I’m told, is MaryAlice Parker [Parks] of ABC.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate it. What is your message to Democrats who want you to be more confrontational with Israel, and — and, specifically, to those that are saying that there should be an end to arm sales? I mean, do you recognize that there’s been a shift, an evolution in your party, Mr. President, in the last 20 years on this issue?

PRESIDENT BIDEN: There is no shift in my commitment and the commitment to the security of Israel, period. No shift. Not at all.

But I’ll tell you what there is a shift in: The shift is that we have to — we still need a two-state solution. It is the only answer. The only answer.

And what I am convinced of, is that we can now move — as I had — did even before, when I was able to negotiate — well, I shouldn’t — before the ceasefire was negotiated, that I made it clear that — and I spoke with President Abbas — we were — we’re going to make sure that we are going to provide for security in the West Bank. And we — we renewed the security commitment as well as economic commitment to the people on the West Bank.

I also indicated to the Israelis that I thought it was very important that they stop, in Jerusalem, this inner-communal fighting that has extremes on both sides. It has to end. It has to end.

And I’m prepared to put together — and I’m going to attempt to put together a major package, with other nations who share our view, to rebuild the homes and — without reengaging — without providing Hamas the opportunity to rebuild their weapon systems — rebuild the Gaza — rebuild Gaza. And they need the help, and I’m committed to get that done.

And so, I don’t — and I think that, you know, my party still supports Israel. Let’s get something straight here: Until the region says, unequivocally, they acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as an independent Jewish state, there will be no peace.

Q And then, in the wake of all of your conversations this week, what is your relationship like now with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Do you have certain expectations that he will bolster the rights of the Palestinian people in some way? And if so, did you convey that to him in your conversations?

PRESIDENT BIDEN: One of the reasons why we were able to get the ceasefire in 11 days, they didn’t do what other people have done: I don’t talk about what I tell people in private. I don’t talk about what we negotiate in private.

What I can assure you, though, is that, the last time, it took 56 days and then 6 months to get a ceasefire. I’m praying the ceasefire will hold. I take Bibi Netanyahu — when he gives me his word, I take him at his word. He’s never broken his word to me.

And — but what I’ve made clear is that it’s essential — it’s essential that the Palestinians in — on the West Bank be secured, that Abbas be recognized as a leader of the Palestinian people, which he is. Hamas is a terrorist organization; we’ve recognized that. But that doesn’t mean we should not be in Gaza, rebuilding Gaza for all those innocent people who in fact have been hurt and — and had been collateral damage, including loss of homes and a whole range of other things — as well as insisting that Israeli citizens, whether they be Arab or Jew, are treated equally as Israeli citizens. And that’s what was going on in — in Jerusalem.

And so that has to come to an end. And Bibi know — the Prime Minister knows my views and — but the commitment that was given had — was immediately kept. I — from the very beginning, I told him what our objective was: that there needed to be a ceasefire. And he, in fact, kept his commitment in the timeframe in which he said he would do it. Thank you.

And, by the way, I wasn’t the only one that spoke to him. We had — I look down here — every major player on my team — from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, all the way down the line, and our national security guys were in constant contact with their counterparts in Israel, in Egypt, and throughout the Middle East.

This was not something that was just done with a casual conversation between myself and Bibi. I have — presumptuous of me to say this but, Mr. President — but I think I’ve got a great team.

And the res- — and I spent a lot of time with Al Sisi on the phone in — in Egypt. And they’ve done a commendable job of bringing Hamas to the table and getting them to agree to a ceasefire as well. Thank you.

Source: “Remarks by President Biden and H.E. Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea at Press Conference,” The White House, (May 21, 2021).