US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint press conference in Tel Aviv Monday in which he called his discussion with Netanyahu a “productive, candid and important discussion.”

Blinken said that Israeli Occupation and Palestinians should take “urgent steps to de-escalate,” adding that “Palestinian and Israelis must enjoy equal measure of freedom.”

Additionally, he said that the US is looking to reinforce the Abraham Accords to “further the security of Israel” adding that “Washington is committed to the safety of Israel and Israelis and that is something that will never change.”

Blinken also said that the “US continues to support upholding the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy places,” and that “anything that moves us away from a two-state solution is detrimental to Israel's longterm security.”

For his part, Netanyahu said: “Our policy is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and we will do everything in our power to achieve that,” to which Blinken affirmed: “Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.”