Biden References Two-State Solution in Oval Office Speech

President also references World War II in speech calling for $105B in aid
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2023 12:00 AM CDT
Biden Speech: 'We Cannot Give Up on a Two-State Solution'
President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Washington, about the war in Israel and Ukraine.   (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)

In his Thursday night speech calling for $105 billion to fund aid related to the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other global conflicts, President Biden mentioned the long-discussed two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. "As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution," he said, per Variety. He also said that while he's committed to supporting Israel's security, "President Netanyahu and I discussed the critical need for Israel to operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat. The people of Gaza urgently need food, water, and medicine," which he said will be arriving via a United Nations humanitarian aid shipment. Biden is expected to formally ask Congress for the $105 billion in aid Friday, the AP reports.

Cognizant of voters' (not to mention some lawmakers') economic concerns, he pointed out the spending will also increase jobs in the US, thanks to missiles and artillery shells that will be constructed in the US. And, he said, "just as in World War II," the US is "building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom." The AP predicts Biden's proposed aid to Ukraine will get pushback from the right while the proposed aid to Israel could get pushback from the left. Even within his own administration, disagreements are coming to the surface: A State Department official resigned over the US policy on weapons transfers to Israel, writing on LinkedIn, "I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be short-sighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse." (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)

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