NEW YORK - US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that she opposes a UN-brokered solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pledging to fight efforts to “delegitimise” the Tel Aviv regime.
The former US secretary of state and Netanyahu met at a hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Sunday evening, hours after the Israeli PM’s meeting with Clinton’s Republican rival, Donald Trump.
During the meeting, Clinton endorsed the two-state solution for the ongoing conflict in Palestine, but also expressed “her opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution,” including the UN Security Council, her campaign said in a statement.
Clinton doubled down on “her commitment to countering attempts to delegitimise Israel, including through the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement,” the statement further read. The BDS movement was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organisations that were pushing for “various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law.”
Since then, thousands of volunteers worldwide have joined the BDS to help promote the Palestinian cause. The former first lady also backed Washington’s military support for Tel Aviv, saying that a “strong and secure Israel” was vital to the US.
Washington has been providing the Israeli regime with $3.1 billion annually since 2007, under a 10-year agreement with the administration of former president George W Bush. The figure was recently raised to $3.8 billion for the next decade. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu went to the Trump Tower in New York City to meet with the billionaire businessman.
During the 90-minute meeting, Trump promised Netanyahu that he will “recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel,” the candidate’s campaign said in a statement. He described East Jerusalem al-Quds, occupied by Israel since 1967, as “the eternal capital of the Jewish people.”
Like Clinton, Trump backed America’s military support for Israel, hailing it as an “excellent investment for America.” Netanyahu, who was being accompanied by Israeli ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer during the meetings, thanked both candidates for their “friendship and support for Israel.”
Palestinians condemn
Trump vow on Jerusalem
as Israel's capital
AFP adds: Palestinian leaders Monday accused Donald Trump of abandoning any hope of a two-state solution after the Republican candidate said he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided" capital if he won the US presidential election.
"Trump's statement shows disregard for international law (and) longstanding US foreign policy regarding the status of Jerusalem," Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said in a statement.
"Previous statements delivered by his adviser on Israel show a total abandonment of the two-state solution, international law and UN resolutions."
Israel captured the eastern half of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day war and annexed it in 1980, declaring all of Jerusalem Israel's unified capital. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised future state.
The Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement criticising Trump as well as his Democrat rival in November's election, Hillary Clinton, accusing her of overly favouring Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. "The state of Palestine will not serve as a bargaining chip for gaining the Jewish vote in the United States," the statement said.
After a meeting with Netanyahu in New York, Trump's campaign released a statement saying the candidate "acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years".
"The United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel," it added. The United States -- and most other UN member countries -- do not recognise Israel's annexation and consider Jerusalem's final status to be a key issue to be resolved in peace negotiations aimed at a two-state settlement.
The US Congress passed a law in October 1995 calling for an undivided Jerusalem to be recognised as Israel's capital and to authorise funding for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But no US president -- Democrat or Republican -- has implemented the law, regarding it as an infringement on the executive branch's authority over foreign policy.