The Biden Administration has already taken actions to show their colors regarding their support for the nation of Israel and the Palestinian people.
The Trump Administration changed their custom of calling Israel’s heartland “occupied territory” during their time in office . In a direct reversal to that change, the US State Department just announced that they once again have decided to consider Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to be occupied by Israel.
At a daily briefing this week, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Israel’s “occupation” of Judea and Samaria is a “historical fact.” Price said: “It is a historical fact that Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights after the 1967 war. That’s precisely why the 2020 Human Rights Report uses that term in the current context of the West Bank. It has been the longstanding position of previous administrations of both parties over the course of many decades. Do we think that the West Bank is occupied? Yes.”
Unfortunately, the State Department fails to remember the fact that the “West Bank” was occupied by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt up until 1967. When Jordan tried to annex the region during its nineteen-year occupation, only two countries recognized the move. In 1988, Jordan relinquished all claim to the entire region of Judea and Samaria.
When he was asked if settlement activity in Judea and Samaria or construction in eastern Jerusalem hurts prospects for a two-state solution, Ned Price said: “We believe when it comes to settlement activity that Israel should refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and that undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution. That includes the annexation of territory. That includes settlement activity.”
“We’ve been equally clear when it comes to the potential actions of the Palestinians,” Price added, “whether that is incitement to violence, providing compensation for individuals in prison for acts of terrorism. That, too, moves us further away from a two-state solution. Our goal in all of this is to advance the prospects for that two-state solution.”
To make this clear, the United States State Department is comparing the building of Jewish homes in Judea to the murder and violence of terrorists by Palestinians.
Do these two comparisons sound equal to you?
- Israelis building homes in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem.
- Palestinians committing violence, murder, and other acts of terrorism against Jews.
There can be no clearer act of anti-semitism, even amongst our own State Department than to declare that Jews have no right to build in their historic homeland, and to compare that to acts of terrorism committed by Palestinians.
Quietly, without any public announcement, the Biden Administration also announced to Congress this week that it will be sending 75 million dollars to the Palestinians. It is not clear if this money will be in addition to the 15 million dollars that it has already sent, designated as COVID relief.
The US State Department said that the 75 million is meant to regain the Palestinians trust and goodwill. Spokesman Ned Price said:
“We continue to believe that American support for the Palestinian people, including financial support, is consistent with our values. It is consistent with our interests. Of course, it is consistent with the interests of the Palestinian people. It’s also consistent with the interests of our partner, Israel, and we’ll have more to say on that going forward.”
The Biden administration has already renewed ties with the PA that were frozen in 2017.
Will America come to her senses? More than ever, it is our duty to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. As a nation, America’s prosperity is directly connected to its treatment of Israel. Even if our government turns its back on Israel, as individuals, we must continue to bless God’s land and people.
I fear that turning our back on Israel will have unfortunate results for the USA.