00:00 Thank you so much for making time for Deutsche Welle.
00:02 Thank you so much.
00:03 Glad to be here.
00:04 So the US administration is seeking a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
00:10 How can the US government influence Prime Minister Netanyahu, who doesn't seem to slow
00:15 down?
00:16 Well, just to clarify, what we're looking for is not just a single pause, but rather
00:19 pauses.
00:20 And in fact, as my colleague Matt Miller, the department spokesperson, has noted before,
00:24 we have seen in effect de facto pauses in the past to ensure, for example, that humanitarian
00:29 aid can enter in via truck through the Rafah gate into Gaza.
00:34 And at the same time, we've seen pauses to ensure that American hostages can get released
00:39 and leave Gaza as well.
00:40 So our goal when we say humanitarian pause is to ensure that military operations do not
00:45 interfere with the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the civilians who need it, do
00:50 not interfere with the release of hostages or with the exit of foreign nationals stuck
00:55 in Gaza who are just trying to go home.
00:57 So is Prime Minister Netanyahu kind of listening to the wishes of the US government?
01:05 Well, look, at the end of the day, we enjoy a very strong relationship with Israel.
01:09 And that strong relationship allows us to be in a position to offer our Israeli friends
01:13 advice and the best practices of our own experience in fighting terrorism.
01:18 And that's exactly what we're doing.
01:20 We are making clear to the Israelis that as democracies, we have a responsibility to take
01:24 every measure to ensure that human life is preserved, civilian life is preserved, that
01:29 the international humanitarian law is respected and protected.
01:33 Unfortunately, by the way, it's just important to note that Hamas, of course, has shown no
01:37 regard for international humanitarian law.
01:39 So the burden is not solely on Israel here.
01:42 It's in fact important to note that Israel is responding to a despicable, brutal terrorist
01:47 attack that took place on October 7th.
01:49 No country, no sovereign country would accept or do nothing in the face of that kind of
01:54 an attack.
01:55 And Israel is simply exercising the right it has and the obligation it has to defend
01:58 itself.
02:00 The Arab Muslim community here in the United States is raising concerns, frustration about
02:08 President Biden being in such strong support of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
02:12 And some are saying, no, we won't vote for him again next year.
02:16 What does that mean for the president?
02:18 Well, we don't do politics here at the State Department, but there's certainly no question,
02:22 as I said before, the United States is a diverse and vibrant democracy.
02:25 People have a wide range of views and they exercise those views at the ballot box.
02:29 I think what's important also to note is that, of course, we have lots of friends and partners
02:33 in the Arab world and the Muslim world overseas.
02:36 We've engaged in robust, almost daily conversations with our partners in the Arab world about
02:40 this issue.
02:41 And we're grateful for those relationships that we have.
02:43 And we're going to continue to work with allies and partners, including countries like Egypt,
02:48 Jordan, Qatar and others, to ensure that we can protect Palestinian civilians and ensure
02:53 that Israel maintains its right to exist and defend itself.
02:56 Secretary of State Blinken is right now traveling in this region.
03:00 How big is the fear that the conflict spreads and might also bring terrorism back to the
03:06 United States?
03:07 Well, our goal, of course, is to stop this conflict from spiraling, from spreading.
03:12 Hamas is doing everything it can to pull in other regional countries to destabilize the
03:18 entire Middle East.
03:19 We, of course, firmly oppose that.
03:21 And part of the reason why this is the Secretary's, I believe, third trip in just a matter of
03:25 a few weeks to the region is because he is so firmly committed to doing everything we
03:29 can using the tools of diplomacy to ensure that this conflict does not spread throughout
03:33 the region.
03:34 What does this conflict in Israel mean for the conflict, for the war in Ukraine?
03:39 Well, as we like to say in the United States, we can walk and chew gum at the same time.
03:42 We can do two things at the same time.
03:45 We're a great nation.
03:46 And we've got great partnerships and alliances around the world as well.
03:49 The United States will continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to do what it takes
03:53 to defend itself from Russia's brutal, unprovoked and illegal further invasion.
03:59 Our goal continues to be to provide Ukraine with what it needs militarily, diplomatically
04:04 and economically to ensure that it can defend its own sovereignty.
04:07 We have not forgotten Ukraine.
04:09 Ukraine is still at the top of the agenda.
04:10 And even with the new Speaker in the House, who kind of is saying pretty much the opposite
04:15 from what you are saying, what would be your message to Ukrainians?
04:18 Can Ukrainians rely on the United States?
04:22 The Ukrainians can absolutely rely on the United States.
04:25 President Biden has made that clear.
04:26 Secretary Blinken has made that clear.
04:28 And Ukraine can also appreciate the fact that we built a very strong set of alliances, strengthened
04:34 NATO like it's never been strengthened before, and a broad coalition of countries, over 50
04:40 countries in fact, who are working to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend its sovereignty.
04:44 Thank you very much.
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