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Antony Blinken Lands in Israel to ‘Solidify’ Ceasefire

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, days after an Egypt-brokered ceasefire halted Israel’s 11-day bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Blinken, who said earlier his trip would aim to support “efforts to solidify a ceasefire”, was set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, though he was not to meet Hamas.

US President Joe Biden said Blinken would meet “with Israeli leaders about our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” as well as seeking to rebuild ties with the Palestinians.

Blinken on Sunday said that US support for a two-state solution is the only way to provide hope to Israelis and Palestinians that they can live “with equal measures of security, of peace and dignity.”

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 280 Palestinians, including 70 children, and wounded over 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict from May 10, the health ministry in Gaza says.

 

Source: The Palestine Chronicle