US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel it must consider the safety of Palestinian civilians before resuming any military operations in Gaza, where a week-long truce allowed the exchange of captives held by the Hamas against Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
As negotiators from Qatar and Egypt held difficult talks Thursday for another two-day extension of the pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel, America’s top diplomat made his third trip to the region since start of the Israeli-Palestinian war in October. 7.
Blinken said Washington remains committed to supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, but also stepped up calls for Israel to comply with international law and protect civilians if it launches major military operations in the southern Gaza.
His message was consistent with US President Joe Biden’s shifting rhetoric on the war, which began with wholehearted embrace of the Israeli response to Hamas attacks but gradually eased as the number of Palestinian civilian casualties increased. started to increase dramatically.
More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, including more than 6,000 children. The number of deaths and the extent of the destruction have sparked widespread international criticism.
As Israel bombed hospitals, schools and homes, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 7,000 people were still missing or feared buried under rubble, and more than 36,000 Palestinians had been injured, many with life-altering injuries. With 26 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals out of service, their chances of getting treatment are slim.
According to Ibrahim Abusharif of Northwestern University in Qatar, Blinken’s continued trips to Israel and meetings with Israeli leaders “do not appear to be moving things in any direction.”
“What set the tone was the initial rhetoric of the Biden administration which gave unconditional support to what turned out to be a genocidal war,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune. “Blinken can try to soften his rhetoric and apply pressure, but ultimately that won’t bring the dead back to Gaza.”
At a meeting in Jerusalem, Blinken assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could count on American support.
But he added that such support requires Israel to “comply with international humanitarian law” and “urged Israel to take all possible measures to avoid harm to civilians,” the US State Department said.
To avoid another significant increase in civilian casualties, Blinken “stressed the imperative to consider humanitarian and civil protection needs in southern Gaza before any military operations there,” the department said.
Later Thursday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington supports the resumption of fighting in Gaza after the truce ends, which Netanyahu has said would happen.
“We continue to believe that Israel has the right and responsibility to take on Hamas…and as it makes that decision, it will continue to find support from the United States,” Kirby told reporters.
Settler violence
Blinken also “called for immediate action to hold settler extremists accountable for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank” and said the United States attached great importance to resuming a peace process that would lead ultimately to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israeli officials have repeatedly promised the United States that Israeli settler violence would be punished, but Netanyahu’s office issued a statement on the meeting with Blinken that contained no mention of settler violence or a solution. two states.
Netanyahu said he told Blinken: “We will continue this war until we achieve all three goals: freeing all of our abductees, completely eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza never faces such a threat again.” »
Blinken also met with the Israeli war cabinet in Jerusalem before traveling to the occupied West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, then returning to Tel Aviv where he spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Humanitarian aid, Palestinian state
In his meeting with Abbas, Blinken focused on efforts to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and condemned Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Blinken told Abbas “he would continue to insist on full accountability for those responsible” and that Washington “remains committed to advancing tangible steps for Palestinian statehood,” the State Department said.
Abbas presented Blinken with “a comprehensive dossier documenting the crimes of the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem,” the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
I spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah about the conflict in Gaza and measures to improve the security and freedom of Palestinians in the West Bank. I reiterated the United States’ commitment to promoting the creation of a Palestinian state. pic.twitter.com/8WYzlqEYPj
– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 30, 2023
Israeli army raids have taken place daily in the West Bank since the start of the war. The total number of people arrested since October 7 now stands at more than 3,325, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).
At least 248 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7. More than 2,750 were injured.
Abbas also raised the subject of forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, particularly in light of the increase in settler attacks.
America’s top diplomat will wrap up his latest Middle East tour in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, where he will discuss the situation in Gaza with Arab leaders gathered in Dubai for the United Nations’ COP28 climate change conference.
A new extension of the truce?
Blinken’s meetings came as Israel and Hamas agreed at the last minute to a third extension of a truce under which Israel suspended most of its military activities in exchange for the release of held captives by Hamas.
Qatar, which mediates between the two sides, said the agreement was being extended under the same conditions as in the past, under which Hamas released 10 Israeli prisoners per day in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners.
On Thursday evening, the Israeli army said two freed captives had been handed over to its soldiers by the Red Cross, and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club published a list containing the names of 30 Palestinian prisoners – eight women and 22 children – who should be released later today.
But as the number of civilians detained in Gaza declines, Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator, said the current version of the truce agreement will have to be renegotiated.
“Can this be done in time to extend this cessation without returning to the intention of the Israeli political and military leadership, which is to resume its all-out assault on Gaza? They are clear that this is where they want to go,” Levy told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“The Americans seem to be saying, ‘Hey, we agree with you to continue your military mission, but can you do it differently’ – that seems to me to be a disingenuous position. Why would anyone believe that Israel will act any differently?