seconds Blinken had plans for a visit to Israel. Then he has to rotate the axis : NPR

Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Debbie Hill/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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Debbie Hill/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Debbie Hill/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel turned out to be more than he bargained for.

Who is he? A man is caught for a moment.

• seconds Blinken is visiting Israel on a trip originally intended to coordinate how the United States will work with newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

• Agenda items include a strategy on how to resolve the nuclear situation in Iran; negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia; and proposed plans for a judicial overhaul that would undermine the current Supreme Court of Israel.

• US officials have expressed concern about how the newly formed far-right government will cooperate with them, as well as plans to legalize more settlements in the occupied West Coast.

Palestinians protest in the grounds of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on January 27 after one of the bloodiest Israeli military attacks on the occupied West Bank in years.

Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

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Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

What is the big problem? It didn’t go exactly as Blinken had originally planned. The past week in Jerusalem has been particularly violent, after Israeli forces carried out their bloodiest raid in the West Bank in years. killed nine Palestinians, including the gunman and a 61-year-old woman. Dozens of others were injured.

• Later on Friday, Israeli police said a Palestinian gunman killed seven people and wounded three outside a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood. The next day, Israeli police said a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded two people in East Jerusalem.

• It is the latest escalation in a cycle of violence that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, with members of Mr Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet actively supporting settlement efforts that many see as an obstacle to peace. jar.
• And on top of that, US officials say that Israel seems to be responsible for a drone attack about a military plant in Iran over the weekend.

What did Blinken say? During a press conference with Netanyahu on Monday, Blinken called for peace, but did not provide many specifics:

“We are calling on all sides to take urgent steps to restore calm, to de-escalate. We want to make sure that there is an environment in which we can, I hope at some point, enable us to begin to restore a sense of security to Israelis and to the people of Israel. Palestine, which of course is very lacking.”

He also affirmed the US commitment to maintaining close ties with Israel:

“In light of this attack and the escalation of violence, it is important that the government and people of Israel know that America’s commitment to their security remains unchanged. That commitment is supported by nearly 75 years of U.S. support. America’s commitment has never been given up, and never will.”

Blinken also reaffirmed his call for a two-state solution, an outcome unpopular with many members of Netanyahu’s cabinet.

• Recent data published on Reuters from the Center for Palestine Studies and Policy shows that public support for the two-state solution is low. Only 33% of Palestinians and 34% of Israeli Jews expressed support for the proposed resolution — a sharp drop from the 2020 data.

So what now? Blinken is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to continue discussions.

• Israeli officials are already preparing for April, when Ramadan and Passover will coincide, and violent conflicts could flare up again.

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