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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he boards his aircraft to depart after conferences, amid the battle between Israel and Hamas, in Amman, Jordan, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Picture by way of AP)
RAMALLAH – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken introduced his frenetic Mideast diplomatic push on the Israel-Hamas conflict to the occupied West Financial institution on Sunday, assembly with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his newest bid to ease civilian struggling within the Gaza Strip and start to sketch out a post-conflict state of affairs for the territory.
Blinken traveled to Ramallah for his beforehand unannounced go to in an armored motorcade and beneath tight safety simply hours after Israeli warplanes struck a refugee camp within the Gaza Strip, killing no less than 40 individuals and wounding dozens, well being officers mentioned. Regardless of the secrecy and the State Division refusing to verify the journey till after Blinken had bodily left the West Financial institution, protests erupted in opposition to his go to and U.S. assist for Israel as phrase of his arrival leaked.
Except for pleasantries, neither man spoke as they greeted one another in entrance of cameras and the assembly ended with none public remark. It was not instantly clear if the shortage of phrases indicated the assembly had gone poorly.
State Division spokesman Matthew Miller mentioned Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. dedication to the supply of life-saving humanitarian help and resumption of important providers in Gaza and made clear that Palestinians should not be forcibly displaced.
Blinken and Abbas mentioned efforts to revive calm and stability within the West Financial institution, together with the necessity to cease extremist violence in opposition to Palestinians and maintain these accountable accountable, Miller mentioned, in reference to violence being dedicated by Israeli settlers.
The assembly with Abbas, whose Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has not been a consider Gaza since Hamas took it over by power in 2007, got here firstly of Blinken’s third day of an intense Center East tour – his second because the conflict started with a shock Hamas assault on Israel on Oct. 7. Blinken had visited Israel and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday earlier than decamping to Jordan for conferences with senior Arab officers on Saturday.
At every cease, Blinken has provided agency U.S. assist for Israel’s proper to defend itself but in addition careworn that it should adhere to the legal guidelines of conflict, defend civilians and enhance humanitarian support provides to Gaza. To try this, in addition to to ease the circulation of foreigners fleeing Gaza, he has made the case that Israel ought to implement rolling humanitarian pauses to its airstrikes and floor operations, one thing that Netanyahu has so far flatly rejected.
U.S. officers imagine that Netanyahu could soften his opposition if he may be satisfied that it’s in Israel’s strategic pursuits to ease the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The hovering loss of life toll has sparked rising worldwide anger, with tens of hundreds from Washington to Berlin taking to the streets over the weekend to demand an instantaneous cease-fire.
The Arab international ministers that Blinken met with on Saturday in Amman – from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates – issued the identical demand.
However Blinken mentioned the U.S. wouldn’t push for one.
“It’s our view now {that a} cease-fire would merely depart Hamas in place, in a position to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7,” he mentioned. As a substitute he mentioned that momentary humanitarian pauses in combating could be crucial to defending civilians, getting support in and getting international nationals out “whereas nonetheless enabling Israel to attain its goal, the defeat of Hamas.”
Arab officers mentioned it was far too quickly to debate one in all Blinken’s foremost agenda gadgets, Gaza’s postwar future. Stopping the killing and restoring regular humanitarian support are quick that should be addressed first, they mentioned.
“How can we even entertain what’s going to occur subsequent?” mentioned Jordanian International Minister Ayman al-Safadi. “We have to get our priorities straight.”
Arab states are resisting American strategies that they play a bigger position in resolving disaster, expressing outrage on the civilian toll of the Israeli navy operations however believing Gaza to be an issue largely of Israel’s personal making.
However U.S. officers imagine Arab backing, irrespective of how modest, shall be crucial to efforts to ease the worsening situations in Gaza and lay the groundwork for what would exchange Hamas because the territory’s governing authority, if and when Israel succeeds in eradicating the group.
Nonetheless concepts on Gaza’s future governance are few and much between. Blinken and different U.S. officers are providing a imprecise define that it’d embrace a mix of a revitalized Palestinian Authority together with worldwide organizations and doubtlessly a peacekeeping power. U.S. officers acknowledge these concepts have been met with a definite lack of enthusiasm.
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