After high-level talks in Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for “urgent steps” to calm the spiraling violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After meeting with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and the country’s foreign minister in Cairo, the top diplomat from Washington traveled to Jerusalem for the second leg of his tour of the Middle East.
“All sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to deescalate,” Blinken urged after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
He stated, “We want to make sure that there’s an environment in which we can, I hope, at some point, create the conditions where we can start to restore a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” This is something that he wanted to make sure that there was.
A day after the deadliest army raid in years claimed the lives of ten Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Israel is reeling from an attack that killed seven civilians outside a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday.
The top US diplomat is scheduled to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen following what Blinken described as a “very candid” conversation with Netanyahu.
Additionally, the Blinken representative will visit Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.
“Dangerous developments”
According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Abbas met with CIA chief William Burns in Ramallah late on Sunday to discuss the “dangerous developments.” The US embassy declined to comment.
The Israeli forces’ deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank in years came before the fatal shooting.
An Israeli raid on the densely populated Jenin refugee camp on Thursday resulted in the deaths of ten people.
Following rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, the military responded by striking locations in the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas.
Home demolitions and other measures have been promised by Netanyahu’s cabinet as a severe response.
In addition, his government intends to make it easier for Israeli citizens to obtain permits to carry firearms and to revoke the relatives of the attackers’ eligibility for social security benefits.
35 Palestinians, 6 Israeli killed in 2023
Officials from both sides said that Israeli troops killed a Palestinian driver on Monday in the occupied West Bank. The army said the car hit a soldier’s leg before speeding off.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed 35 Palestinian adults and children since the beginning of the year, including attackers, militants, and civilians.
Six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed during the same time. In the attack on Friday outside the synagogue in an occupied East Jerusalem settlement, all three were shot to death.
US relations with Israel
The Biden administration’s efforts to quickly engage with Netanyahu, who had tense relations with the previous Democratic president Barack Obama, include Blinken’s Israel visit.
Blinken reiterated US support for a Palestinian state while he was there, a possibility that few anticipate developing under the new Israeli government.
Veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu assumed control of the most right-wing government in Israeli history at the end of last year.
Blinken claimed that while he was in Jerusalem, he spoke with Netanyahu about maintaining the status quo at the tense Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
