Antony Blinken is seeking to bolster Israel ceasefire with Gaza s ruling Hamas group.
JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a Middle East visit in Israel on Tuesday, seeking to bolster its ceasefire with Gaza`s ruling Hamas group and help speed humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian enclave.
Blinken was also due to visit Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Cairo and Amman, with the United States harbouring every hope and expectation the ceasefire would continue to hold, a senior State Department official said. Our primary focus is on maintaining the ceasefire, getting the assistance to the people who need it, said the official, who spoke on Monday on the condition of anonymity. Egypt brokered the truce, in coordination with the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced the reopening of the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem a move that restores ties with the Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration.
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FM conveys King’s message to Abbas
By JT - May 26,2021 - Last updated at May 26,2021
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday (Petra photo)
AMMAN Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Tuesday conveyed a message from His Majesty King Abdullah to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which reiterated the “deep-rooted” Jordanian-Palestinian relations and joint efforts to mobilise international support for launching “serious” negotiations to reach a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
The message also covered means for upholding the ceasefire and the cessation of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, halting all illegal Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as maintaining Jordanian-Palestinian coordination and consultation.
On his tour of the region, Blinken will face the same obstacles that have stifled a wider peace process for more than a decade, including a hawkish Israeli leadership, Palestinian divisions and deeply rooted tensions surrounding Jerusalem and its holy sites.
Blinken, who landed at Ben Gurion International Airport early Tuesday, is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the region since U.S. President Joe Biden assumed office. He was welcomed on the tarmac by Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and other officials.
The administration had hoped to extricate the U.S. from the region’s intractable conflicts and focus on competition with China and climate change. But like so many of its predecessors, it was pulled back into the Middle East by another outbreak of violence.