State Department: Abraham Accords Not ‘Substitute’ for Israeli-Palestinian Peace

JNS.org – The Biden administration said that while it hopes other countries will normalize relations with Israel, it doesn’t believe...

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price holds the daily press briefing in Washington, DC, on Feb. 2, 2021. Photo: US State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha.

JNS.org – The Biden administration said that while it hopes other countries will normalize relations with Israel, it doesn’t believe that such deals are a substitute for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The United States will continue to urge other countries to normalize relations with Israel, and we’ll look for other opportunities to expand cooperation among countries in the region,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.

Price, who reiterated that the Biden administration welcomed Monday’s agreement between Israel and Kosovo that was negotiated under the Trump administration, said that the administration’s hope is that they can contribute to progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peace.

“We hope that as Israel and other countries in the region join together in a common effort to build bridges and create new avenues for dialogue and exchange, these efforts contribute to tangible progress towards the goal of advancing a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

Price also declined to weigh in on whether or not the Trump administration deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for the Abraham Accords, saying that it is up to the Norwegian parliament.

On Sunday, Jared Kushner, senior adviser to former US President Donald Trump, and his deputy Avi Berkowitz were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by US attorney Alan Dershowitz for their role in the normalization deals between Israel and several Arab states.