U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day Mideast trip aimed at shoring up the Israel-Gaza war truce that halted the 11-day war. He won valuable diplomatic support and hundreds of millions of dollars from Arab allies. But, the mission only made little progress in resolving the deeper issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After making diplomatic rounds with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab allies, Antony Blinken acknowledged that any resumption of peace talks remained far off. Meantime, he said progress had been made towards the goals of bolstering the fragile Israel-Gaza war truce.
Although Palestinians said very little about the 11-day war, every nook and cranny of the Gaza Strip is currently stuffed with masonry, artillery and rocket shrapnel. And this speaks volumes. That’s why Blinken also made it crystal clear the Biden administration will lose no time in helping Palestinians rebuild the completely devastated Gaza.
But while promising to make sure the U.S. is hell-bent on helping Palestinians pick up the pieces, Blinken has vowed that none of the humanitarian aid for the Palestinians will reach Hamas, which has long been considered a terrorist organisation by the U.S.
Earlier, he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, after intensive talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
During the 2-hour meeting with el-Sissi, Blinken described Egypt as a “real and effective partner” that helped halt the Gaza war, as it was Egypt who restored calm to the region. El-sissi spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden last week before and after the ceasefire was announced. His government has pledged $500 million in assistance to Gaza.
Jordan’s king noted the United States is playing a vital role in bringing Israel and Palestine back to the negotiating table.
Back in Gaza, Hamas leader Yehiyeh Sinwar said yesterday that the group welcomed the humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine, as long as it did not come from Israel, and had no objection to international oversight.
Brushing off a warning from the U.S. that no military assistance would be provided to Hamas was the Hamas leader, who said Hamas receives ample military assistance from outside sources – Iran, Israel’s arch enemy.
And Blinken said on Tuesday that the U.S. is just trying to bolster the rival government of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were ousted from the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group.
The 11-day war was triggered by weeks of clashes in Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan this year. The war completely devastated Gaza, and killed more than 250 people, with the majority of them being Palestinians, and caused a trail of serious destruction to Gaza’s infrastructure.
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