Sullivan said that the trip to Israel will give Biden the opportunity “to lay out in his own voice his vision for the US-Israel relationship.”
The United States still seeks to open a consulate in east Jerusalem for the Palestinians.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday as he flew to Israel with President Joe Biden.
Asked about the administration’s plan to reopen the consulate in Jerusalem, Sullivan said that it is the administration’s position that it would like a consulate in east Jerusalem.
“Obviously, that requires engagement with the Israeli government; it requires engagement with the Palestinian leadership as well. And we will continue that engagement on this trip,” he said during a press gaggle on Air Force 1, some two hours before landing in Israel.
He also addressed a question about a possible meeting with the family of Shireen Abu Akleh, an al Jazeera journalist killed during an IDF operation in Jenin in May.
“Secretary Blinken spoke with Shireen’s family a short while ago,” the national security adviser said. “He has invited the family to the United States to be able to sit down and engage with them directly. The administration, at the president’s direction, has been very much engaged in helping try to determine what exactly happened around the tragic circumstances of her death.”
Sullivan said that the trip to Israel will give Biden the opportunity “to lay out in his own voice his vision for the US-Israel relationship and his strong and ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s future as a democratic and Jewish state.”
“The President is very much looking forward to his first trip to Israel as president,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, this is not his first trip to Israel as Joe Biden. It will, in fact, be the 10th time he has come and his strong support and commitment to the state of Israel and to the US-Israel relationship are widely known both in Israel and in the United States.”
“His trip will be an opportunity for him to reaffirm and reinforce that as president of the United States, he believes that it is important at this critical moment in the world […] that we deepen and intensify our engagement and relationship with our closest allies and partners in the world,” said Sullivan.
One of the main events during the President’s visit would be a virtual summit with the leaders of Israel, India and the UAE, which is called the “I2U2.” During that summit, “there will be a significant announcement around food security and agricultural technology, which is an area where all four countries can come together to help deal with an immediate crisis facing the entire world,” he said.
“Obviously, this is not his first trip to Israel as Joe Biden. It will, in fact, be the 10th time he has come and his strong support and commitment to the state of Israel and to the US-Israel relationship is widely known both in Israel and in the United States.”
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Iran
Speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Sullivan said that “the President will make clear his longstanding commitment and his administration’s commitment to a two-state solution, which he believes is the best path to ensure a viable democratic Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state where Palestinians can live in freedom and dignity.”
“He was heartened by the recent steps, including the phone call between Prime Minister Lapid and President Abbas; there has not been contact between an Israeli prime minister and the president of the Palestinian Authority in several years before that call, that’s a positive step,” he said. Sullivan noted that Defense Minister Gantz and has met Abbas recently. “These are steps he’d like to encourage both sides to build on, but he won’t be making formal proposals for the launch of some new peace initiative.”
“What he will do is try to encourage both sides to find a pathway where step by step, they move closer towards a vision that works for both Israelis and for Palestinians and for the region as a whole,” he said.
Another stop on this trip is a summit with the GCC during the President’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
“The President is going to give a broad, strong vision statement and strategy for the Biden administration’s approach to the Middle East at a consequential moment,” he said. “He will talk about security; He’ll talk about economics; He’ll talk about America’s historic role in the region and his commitment to maintaining strong American leadership in the Middle East going forward on a basis that is appropriate for 2022, rather than 2002. And he will also talk about human rights.”
Asked about the administration’s position on reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, Sullivan said that “there is a deal on the table.”
“It involves mutual compliance for compliance return to the JCPOA. The President believes Iran should take it,” he said. “At the same time, we are not holding back in terms of enforcing the sanctions. We have done two rounds of designations over the course of the last few weeks to crack down on smuggling and to increase the economic pressure on Iran.”
“So the president’s policy has been clear and straightforward, and that’s how he’s going to lay it out for countries in the region, some of whom have different perspectives, obviously, including Israel,” he said. “And he will make the case that from the view of the United States and the Biden administration diplomacy is the best way to reach what is a shared goal of ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”