On his second day of a tour of the Middle East, the US Secretary of State met with his Qatari counterpart, Mohamed bin Abderrahman, and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II. Faced with Blinken's calls to contain the war in Gaza and prevent it from “metastasising” in the region, the Jordanian monarch reminded him that the United States is precisely the country that can put the most pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire.
Three months into the war in the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today discussed with the authorities of Jordan and Qatar the formulas to avoid a regional expansion of the conflict and its repercussions, which he considered “a matter of global concern”.
This is Blinken's fourth tour in the Middle East since the start of hostilities and, although the first three focused on the defense of Israel's military campaign and the need to increase the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in The latter, the discourse has focused on the possible repercussions of a conflict that is far from coming to an end.
“This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and suffering. From day one, we have been intensely focused on working to prevent the conflict from spreading,” Blinken said at a press conference from Doha alongside his counterpart. Qatari, Mohamed bin Abderrahman.
“Deep tension” in the Middle East
The American diplomat asserted that “this is a moment of deep tension in the region,” and indicated that Qatar and the United States share the commitment to use their “influence, relationships and ties” with different parties “to avoid escalation and avoid new fronts” of war.
“It's not just a regional issue, but an issue of global concern,” Blinken said, specifically referencing Yemen's Houthi rebels and their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.
This armed political-religious group, an ally of Hamas, began attacks weeks ago against ships that have some relationship with Israel and has assured that it will not stop until Israel completely suspends its attacks against the Palestinian population.
Blinken alleged that the attacks are “directly affecting the citizens, cargo and commercial interests of more than 40 countries,” while claiming that they caused the disruption or diversion of nearly 20% of global shipping.
“These Houthi attacks are harming people around the world, especially the poor and vulnerable populations, including in Yemen and Gaza,” said Blinken, who defended a recent US-led international naval alliance in the Red Sea. to address these actions.
In addition to the Houthi attacks, the region is the scene of an intensification of the exchange of fire between the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and Israel, in addition to the actions of pro-Iranian Iraqi militias against Washington positions in Syria and Iraq, something that is raising alarm bells in all over the Middle East.
Return of Palestinians to Gaza
From Doha, Blinken also advocated for the return of Palestinians to their homes “as soon as conditions allow,” since almost the entire population of Gaza has been displaced and is largely concentrated in the south of the enclave, according to the UN.
“They are not owed, they cannot be pressured to leave Gaza,” said Blinken, who added that he condemned the recent statements by two Israeli ministers about the reoccupation of Gaza and the “resettlement” of Palestinians outside the enclave, a few words which he described as “irresponsible and incendiary.”
Likewise, he maintained his tone of condemnation in the face of the overwhelming death toll – around 23,000 in three months – as a result of Israeli operations against the enclave, the vast majority of whom are women and children.
“We continue to raise with Israel the need to do everything possible to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and I will do so again when I am there later this week. I will also raise the imperative to do more to avoid civilian casualties. It has already been killed too many innocent Palestinians. However, the United States remains opposed to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 22,800 civilians have already been killed.
The position of the United States in the conflict has been ambiguous, since although its diplomacy has expressed on several occasions its willingness to protect civilians, the country has opposed a ceasefire in the war in the Security Council of the UN and the Government has sold – even without the approval of the US Congress – weapons for millions of dollars to Israel to continue the war.
Calls for an immediate ceasefire
In their quest to convince their Arab counterparts to exert their influence to achieve a ceasefire and prevent the spread of the conflict, both Qatar and Jordan reminded Blinken that Washington perhaps has more tools than they do to pressure Israel to end its offensive.
This was conveyed to him by the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, bluntly reminding him of the importance of the United States' role in pressing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, protecting civilians and guaranteeing the delivery of humanitarian aid and medical”.
In Amman, the monarch warned Blinken of the “disastrous repercussions of continued Israeli aggression” against the Strip and recalled that the Middle East “will not enjoy stability without a just solution to the Palestinian question” based on the two-state solution.
In this regard, Blinken agreed with the president and stressed his country's commitment to achieving lasting peace through “the establishment of an independent Palestinian State”, the option that the Arab community and a large part of the international community are advocating to put end to the war.
Throughout the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United States has for decades vetoed dozens of UN Security Council resolutions holding Israel accountable. Some of these condemned the country for the displacement of Palestinians or the construction of illegal settlements. Israel is currently facing a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice at the request of South Africa, which accuses it of violating the International Convention to Prevent Genocide.
In the face of criticism and condemnation of the American “double standards”, Blinken also visited a facility in Jordan of the World Food Program (WFP), from where he said that it is “imperative” to maximize assistance to people in need in Gaza and condemned the fragile situation of more than 2.2 million Gazans.
As part of his regional tour, Blinken will visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank, Israel and Egypt in the coming days to discuss the de-escalation of the conflict, the status of negotiations for a ceasefire, the increase in humanitarian aid and the release of captive hostages in Gaza.
EFE
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