BLINKEN OFFERS VISION TO END ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT AT END OF TOUR
▶ US Secretary of State says security assurances for Israel and creation of an independent Palestinian state are the best ways forward for the region
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wound up a week-long tour of the Middle East in Cairo on Thursday, offering a rough vision to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, centring on security guarantees for Israel and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
During his tour, the fourth since the Gaza war broke out more than three months ago, Mr Blinken met Israeli and Palestinian officials and leaders of neighbouring Arab states with a stake in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or whose support is needed for postwar plans in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
A statement issued on Thursday by the Egyptian presidency after Mr Blinken’s talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi revealed little about the substance of their discussions, saying only that the Egyptian leader emphasised to Mr Blinken the need to end the war and resolve the Palestinian question based on a twostate solution.
“The two sides were in agreement to continue contacts with all parties to push forward efforts for a ceasefire and to prevent a wider conflict as well as the total rejection of the principle of or attempt to evict the Palestinians,” said the statement.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Blinken said the region faced two paths.
One path could see “Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States, and a Palestinian state – at least a pathway to get to that state”, he said.
“The other path is to continue to see the terrorism, the nihilism, the destruction by Hamas, by the Houthis, by Hezbollah, all backed by Iran,” said Mr Blinken.
“If you pursue the first path … that’s the single best way to isolate, to marginalise Iran and the proxies that are making so much trouble – for us and for pretty much everyone else in the region.”
Mr Blinken’s public statements have been light on details, but diplomats and sources who spoke to The National said he appeared to have different goals from each country he visited.
The sources said that one of Mr Blinken’s goals was to rally support for a US-led naval coalition to deal with threats to Red Sea shipping lanes posed by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis.
He also sought to secure financial support from Gulf Arab states for the reconstruction of Gaza and discussed the possible participation of Turkey in a multinational force to be sent in Gaza after the war.
Mr Blinken also had to address the concerns of Arab nations such as Jordan and Egypt over the fallout from the Gaza war, argue against criticism of Washington’s widely perceived bias in favour of Israel, and work to de-escalate the threat of a wider regional war involving Iranian-backed armed groups from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Throughout his visit, Mr Blinken did not voice support for Arab demands for a ceasefire in Gaza, the sources said.
Instead, he focused on potential humanitarian pauses and the release of hostages held by Hamas, advocating Israel’s right to self-defence while pointing out that Washington has called on Israel to do more to protect civilians and allow more aid into Gaza.
Jordan and Egypt cautioned Mr Blinken that a prolonged war in Gaza as envisaged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carries the risk of instability in the region, diplomats and sources said.
“At the end of the day, Hamas is a radical religious movement. The war is increasing support for Islamists regardless of whether Israel wins or not in Gaza,” said a European diplomat who discussed the war with Egyptian officials in Cairo.
He said Egyptian officials have warned US envoys, including Mr Blinken, that even if Israel succeeds in realising its goal of destroying Hamas, which has committed to destroy Israel, the militants will recover and attack Israel again.
President El Sisi has said that any expulsion of Palestinians into Egypt would endanger his nation’s security, explaining that Israel would feel compelled to target Palestinians on Egyptian soil if attacked by militants based there.
Like Jordan, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel. Egypt and Israel have over the past decade worked in close co-operation on security, counterterrorism, and combating cross-border drug smuggling and human trafficking, but relations have deteriorated since the Gaza war began.
Mr Blinken’s visit to the region came three months into the fifth and most devastating Israel-Gaza war since 2008.
Throughout his visit, Mr Blinken did not voice support for Arab demands for a ceasefire in Gaza, sources said