By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON â The White House says President Joe Biden has expressed âsupportâ for a cease-fire during a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A statement says the leaders spoke Monday, which was the eighth day of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
Bidenâs move signals U.S. concern for an end to Israelâs part of hostilities with Hamas, although it falls short of joining growing Democratic Party demands for an immediate cease-fire.
The White House says the president reiterated his firm support for Israelâs right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks.
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JERSUALEM â Israelâs military says it identified six rockets launched from Lebanon that apparently fell inside Lebanese territory.
UAE stands ready to facilitate peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, the de facto ruler of the Gulf state said in remarks carried on state media.
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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel s US correspondent based in New York
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, May 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Antony Blinken was heading to Israel Monday for his first trip to the region as US secretary of state, days after Washington helped broker a ceasefire that brought an end to the most significant escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas in seven years.
The goals of the three-day trip which will also include stops in Ramallah, Cairo and Amman will be to ensure that the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza terror groups holds while also pushing steps that will improve the quality of life for both sides in the absence of immediate peace talks to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a senior State Department official told reporters in a phone briefing ahead of Blinken’s takeoff.
WASHINGTON â U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East this week, President Joe Biden said, as the U.S. continues to try to cement a fragile cease-fire that ended renewed conflict in Gaza.
Biden announced the trip in a written statement Monday morning, tasking Blinken with building ties with both Israelis and Palestinians. Blinken will visit Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman from Monday through Thursday.
Itâs the latest sign that the U.S. will be called upon to steer peace efforts in the region at a time when Biden had signaled other foreign policy priorities, including reorienting supply chains and doing more to compete with China. Bidenâs response to the conflict was muted for days, part of what his administration called âquiet diplomacy.â