US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is “shocking,” but stressed the need to ensure that “Israelis live in peace.”
Blinken spoke today, Wednesday, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying, “What we see in Gaza is shocking, and the suffering breaks my heart, and the question is: What should be done?”
Blinken stressed the necessity of “ensuring that Israelis live in peace,” saying that “what happened on October 7 cannot be repeated,” referring to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance in the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.
He added, “The challenge now is the extent of Israeli society’s willingness to cooperate to achieve a new vision with the region and its people,” adding that “there will be no integration without recognition of a Palestinian state,” while emphasizing the necessity of “developing a Palestinian authority capable of taking care of its people.”
Normalization
In this context, the US Secretary of State said that “any Palestinian authority that does not find support from Israel will not be able to provide what is required for the partnership between the two parties,” noting that “there must be a Palestinian authority subject to reform.”
Regarding the issue of normalization with Arab countries, Blinken said that there is a great opportunity for normalization with Israel in the Middle East, and that the challenge lies in exploiting it.
He pointed out that “there are Arab and Islamic countries that are expressing their willingness to normalize relations with Israel for the first time and recognize it.”
Regarding the Iranian file, Blinken said, “Ending the Iranian nuclear agreement was a big mistake, and we are now in a situation that we did not want in this regard.”
He added, “Iran is isolated with its partners in the region, and there are important decisions capable of achieving a new vision.”