Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s upcoming visit to the White House – his first since taking office – and urges President Biden to use this visit to bolster the administration’s role in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace.

APN urges the Biden administration to seize this valuable opportunity to reiterate long-standing US policies intended to work toward a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This includes underscoring that the United States – like the entire international community – opposes West Bank settlement construction, insists on stopping settlement activity, on dismantling West Bank illegal outposts, built in violation of Israel’s own laws and regulations, and on the cessation of other measures aimed at de-jure or de-facto annexation of the West Bank. APN also urges President Biden to insist that Israel halt its provocative and destabilizing practices in East Jerusalem, and to make clear that reversing the Trump administration’s damaging anti-Palestinian, anti-peace practices remain a priority of this administration.  

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “the Biden administration must live up to its campaign promises and reassert America’s role as a force for peace between Israel and Palestine. President Biden should act proactively rather than default to the comfort of benign neglect. I wish him a successful meeting with Prime Minister Bennett, but not at the expense of ignoring the real issues that need to be addressed.”