The head of US diplomacy Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday for discussions with Israelis and Palestinians.to whom he already urged “calm” after a new spiral of violence.
This visit, the second leg of a whirlwind tour of the Middle East that began in Egypt, It had been planned for a long time but it took on a new axis with the recent bloody escalation of violence in the region.
“We call on all parties to calm down and to defuse tensions,” he said on Monday.
Blinken in Cairo during a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri, who called for a “just solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more than ever at a standstill.
Egypt is a historical mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first Arab country to sign peace with Israel in 1979, and a neighbor of the Gaza Strip, under an Israeli blockade for more than 15 years, Egypt receives both the Israeli heads of government and the leaders of the different Palestinian parties.
The Egyptian presidency assured this Monday that Cairo “has made efforts in recent days to try to control the increase in tensions” in the region.
Human rights defenders are critical to building just and successful societies. I met with members of Egyptian civil society, heard inspiring stories of their work to protect fundamental freedoms for all, and reiterated the centrality of human rights to US foreign policy. pic.twitter.com/2w3AKYe8z3
—Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 30, 2023
Violence, out of control
The situation between Palestinians and Israelis has escalated abruptly in recent days with attacks, shootings, air strikes and punitive measures.and left dead on both sides.
After the recent anti-Israeli attacks, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu announced a package of measures to punish the relatives of the perpetrators of these acts.
(You can read: Israel bombs Gaza and Palestinians fire rockets after ‘massacre’ in the West Bank)
Israeli forces have sealed off the family home of a Palestinian who killed seven people on Friday outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian part of the Holy City, and plan to destroy the home.
This attack occurred the day after an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, in which ten Palestinians were killed. In response, there was rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.
Immediately afterwards, the army of the Hebrew State proceeded to bombard the Palestinian enclave. On Saturday, a Palestinian wounded two Israelis in East Jerusalem, and on Sunday Israeli security guards killed a Palestinian in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. And on Monday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian in Hebron, in the southern West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, January 2023 is the month with the highest number of Palestinian fatalities from Israeli fire since 2015 in the West Bank. 35 people have died, an average of more than one death per day.
(We recommend: Israel, at risk of constitutional crisis due to discussion on judicial reform)Blinken is scheduled to reiterate to Netanyahu on Monday and then to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday a call for restraint.
I want to hear what people who are affected daily have to say
Blinken told the Saudi channel Al Arabiya that he wants to “talk with the Israeli government and with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.” “I want to hear what people who are affected daily (by the conflict) have to say,” he said.
Although the United States and Egypt are important diplomatic actors, for the experts the room for maneuver of the Secretary of State is limited.
(Also: Israel, at risk of constitutional crisis due to discussion on judicial reform)
Washington condemned the “heinous” attack in East Jerusalem and urged Netanyahu and Abbas to “take urgent steps to de-escalate,” according to the State Department. But privately, US officials make no secret of their frustration at the escalating and stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Although little progress is expected on the de-escalation front, analysts say Washington is trying to re-engage with Netanyahu. Several officials have recently been to Jerusalem and some experts are talking about a possible visit by Netanyahu to the White House in February.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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