Blinken Meets With Netanyahu, Urges Calm

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Facts

  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued his brief visit to the Middle East on Monday by meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and publicly calling for Israel and Palestine to 'take urgent steps to restore calm, to de-escalate,” as tensions have recently flared.
  • In some of the worst violence the region has witnessed in years, 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli raid of a refugee camp last Thursday. Over the weekend, a Palestinian gunman killed at least seven Israelis outside of a synagogue, and a teenager shot and wounded two Israelis in Jerusalem.
  • Blinken also expressed the desire of the US for a revival of the “vision of two states” so that “a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike” can return to the region. Netanyahu, whose newly-formed coalition government includes members that oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, didn’t respond to Blinken’s call for two states.
  • Blinken also addressed concerns about Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, which would weaken the Supreme Court’s ability to review laws. Blinken emphasized the importance of maintaining strong democratic institutions and values, which help keep the US-Israel bond tight; Netanyahu echoed those sentiments.
  • Blinken’s trip started Sunday in Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. The top US diplomat commended Egypt for taking “important strides” in the realm of human rights, but also expressed “concerns.”
  • Blinken is scheduled to have separate meetings with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.

Sources: Associated press, New York Times, BBC News, Axios, and Reuters.

Narratives

  • Pro-Palestine, as provided by Al Jazeera. If Blinken doesn’t favor Israel over the Palestinians, he has a funny way of showing it. He offered condolences to Israeli victims but ignored the Palestinian victims of last week’s violence. He said the US wants a 'two-state solution,' but failed to criticize the Israeli policy of building settlements where a Palestinian state would go. Maybe the US should focus less on other regional actors like Iran and actually put in the work it will take to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
  • Pro-Israel, as provided by Wall Street Journal. The deaths at the Palestinian refugee camp were the result of a military raid to weed out terrorists, unlike the heinous attacks on civilians carried out by Palestinians and celebrated by their leadership. Until Palestinians acknowledge Israel’s right to exist — and this concept might be forwarded by more Arab countries joining the Abraham Accords — it’ll be difficult to change the status quo.