Blinken landed in Egypt on Sunday and from there will head to Israel on Monday. Talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen are on the agenda in Jerusalem. Blinken’s trip was also planned as an inaugural visit to Israel’s new government. Netanyahu’s coalition – the most right-wing the country has ever seen – has only been in office for a month.
Under the new government, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has dangerously escalated again – although the current wave of violence had already begun with a series of attacks under the previous, more liberal government.
Netanyahu announces tougher action
On Friday, a Palestinian killed seven people outside a synagogue in a settler neighborhood in East Jerusalem, followed by another attack on Saturday. The day before the attack in front of the synagogue, ten Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army operation in the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Portal/Ammar Awad Blinken’s visit to Israel was marred by a wave of violence
Netanyahu announced new measures against murderers and their families on Sunday. He also spoke of strengthening the Israeli settlement project. Blinken recently criticized Israeli settlement policy in the occupied West Bank in no uncertain terms.
asks for moderation
“The most important thing in the near future is to try to create calm,” Blinken told Saudi news channel al-Arabiya in an interview on Sunday, according to a foreign ministry transcript. French President Emmanuel Macron also called for restraint following the recent outbreak of violence. In a telephone conversation with Netanyahu on Sunday, Macron reminded everyone of the need to avoid actions that could fuel further violence, his office said.
The recent spiral of violence is also expected to play a role in Monday’s talks between Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt’s traditional role as a mediator in the Middle East is believed to be one of the reasons the US continues to retain the country as a key partner – despite President Joe Biden’s criticism of human rights abuses in Egypt.
AP/Mohamed Abd El Ghany Blinken visited the American University in Cairo on Sunday
On Tuesday with Abbas
Blinken wants to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday. The Palestinian Authority recently blamed Israel for the renewed violence. Israel bears “full responsibility for the dangerous escalation,” the agency said.
It is questionable whether Blinken’s mediation efforts were successful. “The best thing they can do is keep things stable to avoid another May 2021,” Aaron David Miller, a longtime US negotiator, was quoted as saying by the British Guardian. Miller alluded to the 11-day fighting between Israel and Hamas two years ago. These ended with an armistice mediated by Egypt.
Conflict in Iran is the second biggest problem
In addition to the violence between Israel and the Palestinians, Blinken has another topic to talk about: the nuclear dispute with Iran. The US government has not ruled out military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Blinken told al-Arabiya on Sunday that all options are on the table. When asked if that included a military option, Blinken didn’t rule it out.
However, he also said that the preferred path is diplomacy. Iran had the chance to return to the international nuclear deal but turned it down, Blinken said. As early as the summer of 2022, Biden had not ruled out an attack “as a last resort”.
Iran said over the weekend that a military installation in the country had been attacked with drones. The attack was “unsuccessful”, state media reported. It is unclear who was responsible for the attack. Just a few days ago, the United States completed a full-scale military exercise with Israel. According to media reports, it was the largest military exercise that Israel and the United States have ever held together.