Americans for Peace Now cautiously welcomes yesterday’s launch of the Joint US-Israel Strategic High-Level Dialogue on Technology. As announced in this summer’s Jerusalem US-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration, these talks are intended to establish a US-Israel technological partnership on critical and emerging technologies and solutions to global challenges. 

However, we urge the Biden administration to ensure that this partnership is not extended to institutions or companies based in Israeli West Bank Settlements. The West Bank is under Israeli military occupation. It is not a part of sovereign Israel and should not be treated as such. 

Additionally, we are deeply concerned that the Biden administration has allowed for the Trump administrations’ 2020 removal of the geographic restrictions on other cooperative efforts like the Binational Research Foundations between the US and Israel (BIRD, BARD and BSF) to remain in effect.

APN President and CEO, Hadar Susskind said: “While the US and Israel work to strengthen their technological cooperation and research ties, doing so in any context that lends legitimacy to Israeli settlements further entrenches the occupation and undermines prospects for peace. It is vital that the Biden administration restores the territorial restrictions to the Binational Research Foundations and upholds this distinction in any future technology initiatives.”