US backs UN Security Council statement denouncing Israeli settlements in rare move
Middle East EyeFeb 21, 2023
An Axios report released on Monday claimed that senior aides of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Pres. Mahmoud Abbas have held secret talks over the past two months to tame rising tensions in the West Bank.
The report also claimed that the White House was aware of the backchannel. It's reportedly ambiguous whether all members of Netanyahu's coalition were conscious of the talks.
Israel's far-right government has taken actions so abusive in the occupied West Bank that even its closest ally, the US, agreed to support the UN Security Council presidential statement. Though communication is important, settlement activities continue to disrupt peace and put any possible diplomatic agreement at risk.
If you pay attention to what the Netanyahu government is saying, secret talks between Israel and Palestine shouldn't surprise you. Though he isn't catering to every outlandish demand from the UN, the Prime Minister has already promised the Biden admin. that Israel won't build any further settlements beyond what is already there. The so-called rift between Israel and the US or Israel and the Palestinian Authority is often fabricated — or at least hyperbolized — to make Israel look bad.