Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday the United States believes South Africa's genocide charge against Israel is "meritless," but the daily toll of war on civilians in Gaza is far too high.
Blinken made the comment at a press conference after talks in Tel Aviv with Israeli leaders.
He said the Biden administration believes the accusation against Israel “distracts the world” from all that is at stake in Gaza, including the safe return of the hostages.
“And moreover, the charge of genocide is meritless,” he added.
Blinken said Palestinians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow and cited an agreement on a plan for the United Nations to carry out an assessment mission in Gaza.
“In today’s meetings, I was also crystal clear: Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” Blinken said. “They must not be pressed to leave Gaza. As I told the prime minister, the United States unequivocally rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, and the prime minister reaffirmed to me today that this is not the policy of Israel’s government.”
Blinken said the United States rejected any proposals advocating a resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza and stressed that the Palestinian authority has responsibility to reform itself.
Blinken, who visited several other countries in the Middle East this week, also said that many countries in the Middle East are ready to invest in the future of Gaza, but only with a clear pathway to a Palestinian state.
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