‘Pivotal’ moment for Blinken, Netanyahu
JERUSALEM — As Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday in Jerusalem, the two men spoke of an enduring bond between their countries — even as deepening differences on a series of fundamental issues are placing that unity under enormous stress.
In the context of a relationship troubled by Israel’s political lurch rightward and escalating Israelipalestinian violence, along with disagreements on matters including Iran’s nuclear program and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the familiar affirmations of a vital alliance almost seemed defensive, as if the two men recognized how difficult sustaining that bond has become.
Blinken pleaded with Israelis and Palestinians to prevent a cycle of retribution after months of elevated violence exploded in recent days with a bloody Israeli military raid in the West Bank and terrorist attacks within Jerusalem, leaving more than 20 people dead.
Israel has also been strained with mass protests, with as many as 100,000 people attending one in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Israelis who oppose a reelected Netanyahu and his plans to assert more political control over the judiciary have taken to the streets, warning of a right-wing threat to Israel’s democratic foundations — a concern shared by President Joe Biden’s administration.
The new Israeli coalition, which formed last month, is widely seen as the most rightwing and religious in Israel’s history.
After expressing America’s “steadfast support” for Israel, Blinken nodded to the disagreements in what he called a “candid” one-on-one conversation with Netanyahu.
He reiterated U.S. support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians — a goal more distant than ever under Netanyahu’s coalition government, which was established with the support of ultranationalist figures who take hard-line positions toward Palestinian rights and encourage increased Israeli settlement of the West Bank.
Blinken also spoke of the importance of “core democratic principles and institutions,” an apparent reference to the proposed judicial changes, and reminded Netanyahu of the value of governing by consensus.
And with Israel hedging its support for Ukraine for fear of angering President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Blinken spoke of “the importance of providing support for all of Ukraine’s needs.”
Netanyahu, now in his third term as prime minister, joked that he is a survivor who has partnered with “quite a few” American presidents. (Four, to be exact.) But within the Biden administration, where many know Netanyahu well from a tenure that overlapped with Barack Obama’s presidency, the memories are not fond.
The Israeli leader’s electoral comeback last year after a brief political exile, while facing criminal charges, stunned U.S. officials, who remember his bitter clashes with Obama over Iran, the Palestinians and other matters. They also remember how the Israeli leader, long seen as aligned with Republicans, worked hand-in-glove with President Donald Trump.
But it is also clear that both governments need each other. Netanyahu and Blinken each spoke about the potential for cooperation on what might be the prime minister’s chief foreign policy goal: further normalizing Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors, potentially including Saudi Arabia.
It will not be easy. U.S. officials have warned Netanyahu that the more his coalition’s domestic agenda clashes with Washington’s views, the harder such collaboration becomes.
“This moment is probably the most severe political challenge to the U.s.-israel relationship since Menachem Begin became prime minister in 1977,” said Jeremy Ben-ami, the president of the liberal Israel advocacy group J Street.
The Biden administration’s frustrations with Netanyahu and his coalition, which includes some figures considered radical enough that U.S. officials will not interact with them directly, were obscured somewhat by Blinken’s strong expressions of sorrow and solidarity after a pair of terrorist attacks in East Jerusalem carried out by Palestinians in recent days.
After landing at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Blinken delivered an unusual statement on the tarmac that expressed condolences and called “especially shocking” a Friday attack outside a synagogue in which a Palestinian gunman killed seven people.
The attacks followed an Israeli raid Thursday on a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin, which led to the deaths of 10 Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. Palestinian officials called the killings a massacre, and the Palestinian Authority suspended its security cooperation with Israel’s military. Israeli officials said the raid was ordered to arrest militants from the Islamic Jihad group planning “major attacks” against Israelis.
The violence continued Sunday, when a Palestinian man was fatally shot outside an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and Israeli settlers carried out nearly 150 attacks against Palestinians and their properties across the region.
U.S. officials and analysts worry that Palestinian frustration with a moribund peace process, along with the rise of hard-line Israeli leaders, has created dry tinder that could burst into a major Palestinian uprising.
Blinken appealed for calm amid worries about escalatory responses, saying that he had come “at a pivotal” moment.
After meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken reiterated U.S. support for “upholding the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy places,” including the Temple Mount, a holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Earlier this month, the hard-line Israeli minister of national security, Itamar Ben-gvir, made a provocative visit to the site that drew a furious reaction from the Palestinian leadership and alarmed U.S. officials.
Blinken planned to travel Tuesday to Ramallah, the administrative hub of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, and meet with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. He is likely to appeal to Abbas to help contain the escalating violence, which included a shooting in Jerusalem by a 13year-old Palestinian boy last weekend.