Secretary of State Antony Blinken restated the Biden administration's commitment to a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine via a phone call Monday with his new Israeli counterpart.
Blinken applauded Israeli Foreign minister Eli Cohen on his appointment and emphasized the alliance between the U.S. and the state of Israel, according to a White House readout.
The secretary of state also conveyed a pledge to a two-state solution in the West Bank amid Israeli-Palestine tensions, saying the U.S. is opposed to anything that would endanger the solution.
Cohen was appointed to his position after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in last week.
Netanyahu secured a parliamentarian majority of far-right and religious lawmakers who harbor hardline views on Palestine, which claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip, despite Israeli occupation.
To gain a majority, Netanyahu had to make concessions, including expanding settlements in the West Bank and annexing parts of the region, including East Jerusalem.
The potential for Netanyahu to escalate could alienate the Israeli government from the world stage and even risk tensions with its long-standing ally, the United States.
Anti-Netanyahu protests went to the Israeli embassy in Washington on Monday to protest the new government in Israel.
"We protested against the felons, fascists, and fundamentalists who make up the current Israeli government," tweeted Americans for Peace Now, a nonprofit advocating for an end to the Israeli-Palestine conflict which also organized the protest.
"We are for an Israel that respects democracy, pluralism, and religious diversity," the group said. "We are for an Israel where there is peace, justice and equality for all citizens. And we are for an Israel that lives in peace, and with justice and equality, with its Palestinian neighbors."
Last week, President Biden congratulated Netanyahu and said the U.S. would seek a two-state solution in the West Bank.
"From the start of my administration, we have worked with partners to promote this more hopeful vision of a region at peace, including between Israelis and Palestinians," Biden said in a statement. "The United States will continue to support the two-state solution and to oppose policies that endanger its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values."
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