President Biden said Friday there’s been no shift in his commitment to supporting Israel’s security and that his Democratic party still generally supports the country.
“There is no shift in my commitment to the security of Israel — period,” Mr. Biden said at a press conference at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. “I think that my party still supports Israel.”
Mr. Biden had been asked about a push from some in his party to cancel a planned weapons deal with Israel in light of the country’s bloody conflict with Hamas over the last two weeks.
The president recommitted to pushing for a two-state solution and said he planned to put together a package to help rebuild homes in Gaza after the most recent conflict.
“They need the help, and I’m committed to get that done,” the president said.
Mr. Biden said he’s praying that the new cease-fire between Israel and Hamas holds and that he takes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his word.
“From the very beginning, I told him what our objective was, that there needed to be a cease-fire and he, in fact, kept his commitment in a time frame in which he said he would do it,” the president said.
Mr. Moon said the Israel-Hamas cease-fire was a “relief” and said he appreciated the Biden administration’s hard work on trying to push the two sides toward an end to the fighting.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu spoke at least six times in recent weeks as the conflict raged and other countries had called for a cease-fire.
The White House said Mr. Biden told Mr. Netanyahu in a call on Wednesday that he expected to see a significant de-escalation on the path to a cease-fire by the end of the day.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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