The US authorities are in favor of a bilateral dialogue between Israel and Palestine for a peaceful end to the confrontation between the parties, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, TASS reports. According to him, a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue can only be achieved through direct negotiations.

“[Israel's] settlement expansion is clearly an obstacle to the horizon of hope that we see. In addition, any move towards the annexation of the West Bank [Jordan River] - de facto or de jure, the violation of the historical status quo of holy sites, the continued destruction of [Palestinian] houses and the removal of families who have lived in these houses for generations, hurt the prospects [peaceful coexistence] of two states,” Blinken added.

As the head of the State Department noted, Washington is in favor of a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine based on agreed exchanges of territory. He also added that the United States strives to ensure that the peoples of the two countries can live in peace with each other.

Earlier it was reported that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said that if Israel does not comply with UN resolutions, then its membership in the organization must be suspended.