Rabat – As the US continues to arm and condone Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) aggression in Palestine, an American official on Thursday issued a statement saying that Washington is in fact seeking to “build a pathway to a Palestinian state.”
In a digital press brief, Barbara Leaf, the US’s Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, said that the aim of the US diplomacy “has been to seek a durable solution to this conflict.”
Leaf’s statement comes as Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip enters its fifth month, with the IOF having murdered over 27,000 Palestinians. The war has further displaced 80% of Palestinians and destroyed 50-61% of homes in the Gaza Strip.
In stark contrast to Washington’s actions in support of Israel’s collective punishment campaign in Gaza, the US official stressed that her country is instead “looking beyond to how we can build a pathway to a Palestinian state and put aside for good the causes of insecurity for Israel and insecurity for the Palestinian people, as well as the larger region.”
Since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, the US has repeatedly used its veto right to block any attempt from the United Nations Security Council aiming to mandate a ceasefire.
And contrary to evidence showing that IOF is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, US President Joe Biden has repeatedly claimed that a ceasefire “will only benefit Hamas.”
Barbara Leaf’s statement also comes amid news of Biden’s requesting at least $14.3 billion in additional assistance to Israel. According to news reports, the funds would be used for air and missile systems, including Israel’s famous mobile all-weather air defense system known as Iron Dome.
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While the US continues to arm Israel and ignores the IOF’s war crimes on Palestinian soil, Leaf painted a different picture of where the Biden administration stands on the Gaza crisis.
The US is committed to preserving Palestinians’ right to self-determination and believes that establishing a Palestinian state is the only way “to create a longer-lasting peace that will benefit not just Israelis and Palestinians but the region more generally,” Leaf argued. “We are as committed – the United States is committed as ever to this region and to finding a better pathway to security and stability and prosperity for the region.”
In addition to publicly supporting and funding Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, the US has looked the other way as multiple reports have shown that the Israeli army occupation is blocking access to much-needed humanitarian aid, thus exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and pushing Palestinians to the brink of famine.
Last December, the UN warned that 40% of Gaza’s population was already suffering from famine.
To add to the Palestinians’ woes, the US recently cut funding for the UN humanitarian agency in Gaza (UNRWA) after the Israeli government accused 12 UNRWA staff of being involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack inside Israel.
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Other Western countries, including the UK and Australia, have also cut funding for UNRWA following Israel’s allegations.
Despite clear, repeated incidents of the US rejecting calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, public statements by American diplomats suggest that Washington has in fact been working to improve the humanitarian situation in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“We’re wholly focused on improving the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, and that means working with all of our partners to increase the aid making its way to the people of Gaza and urging that every feasible measure be taken to protect civilian lives,” Lead said in her press briefing.
Meanwhile, after months of Western denial of Israel’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip, the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has challenged the West’s embrace of Israel’s narrative regarding the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
In acknowledging that Israel has plausibly committed in Gaza acts that violate the Genocide Convention, the ICJ has given Palestinians hope that the pro-Israel narrative that dominates Western leadership may be coming to an end.
