Biden Administration ‘Strongly’ Supports Two-State Solution

The Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount is seen in the background as Palestinian youths hold their skateboards while standing on a rooftop, in Jerusalem's Old City February 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount is seen in the background as Palestinian youths hold their skateboards while standing on a rooftop, in Jerusalem's Old City February 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Biden Administration ‘Strongly’ Supports Two-State Solution

The Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount is seen in the background as Palestinian youths hold their skateboards while standing on a rooftop, in Jerusalem's Old City February 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount is seen in the background as Palestinian youths hold their skateboards while standing on a rooftop, in Jerusalem's Old City February 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Recent statements made by the US Secretary of State have indicated that the White House will pursue the former administration’s policy on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, except for not opposing the two-state solution and having Jerusalem as the capital of both states.

In an interview with CNN on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that President Joe Biden “strongly supports” the two-state solution.

“The hard truth is we are a long way I think from seeing peace break out and seeing a final resolution of the problems between Israel and the Palestinians and the creation of a Palestinian state,” he said, stressing that Palestinians have the right to establish their own state.

The President considers the two-state solution “the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, and the only way to give the Palestinians a state to which they’re entitled.”

“We’re looking to make sure that neither side takes unilateral actions that make the prospects for moving toward peace and a resolution even more challenging than they already are.”

The administration will support steps that create a better environment in which actual negotiations can take place, he stated.

Commenting on the Abraham Accords, Blinken said the new administration applauded them.

“This is an important step forward. Whenever we see Israel and its neighbors normalizing relations, improving relations, that’s good for Israel, it’s good for the other countries in question, it’s good for overall peace and security, and I think it offers new prospects to people throughout the region through travel, through trade, through other work that they can do together to actually materially improve their lives.”

Nevertheless, he ruled out that the challenges of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians go away.

“They’re not going to miraculously disappear,” he stressed.

In his response to whether Biden has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said they spoke during the transition period, adding that he talked to his Israeli counterparts on multiple occasions already.

“What we have to see happen is for the parties to get together directly and negotiate these so-called final status issues,” he said, stressing that it’s the objective.

“And as I said, we’re unfortunately a ways away from that at this point in time.”



‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.