In an address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog acknowledged his country’s ongoing conflict with its Palestinian neighbors, who live in territories that have been occupied by Israel for more than half a century.
Herzog alluded to a new wave of violence in recent months between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants, characterizing attacks carried out by Palestinians as acts of terror. He said that “Israel cannot and will not tolerate terror, and we know that in this, we are joined by the United States of America.”
He said that “Israel has taken bold steps towards peace” in its proposals to the Palestinians over the years, but named violence and “deep political differences” as drivers of the ongoing conflict.
“The younger generation of Israelis and Palestinians deserve better,” he added.
“They are all worthy of a future to look towards. A future of peace and prosperity — a future of hope,” he added. “And I’m wholeheartedly committed to this vision, a vision of hope and peace — true peace — without any terror.”
Israel displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their communities upon its founding in 1948, which divided the region into the state of Israel and two Palestinian territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel has occupied those territories since 1967. In recent years, Israeli settlements have increasingly expanded on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law. Israel has been widely criticized for national policies that subject Palestinians in occupied territories to legal, economic and political discrimination.
Herzog is the second Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog, to address Congress.
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