Antony Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank to call for an end to violence

The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, will travel next week to Israelthe West Bank and Egypt, where he will call for an end to violence after an Israeli raid that left nine Palestinians dead, the State Department said Thursday.

blinken He will hold his first face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the veteran leader returned to head the most right-wing government in the history of Israel.

LOOK: Palestinian Authority suspends security cooperation with Israel after incursion in Jenin

In his visit on Monday and Tuesday, he will also meet Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.

blinken “will underscore the urgent need for the parties to take steps to de-escalate tensions with the aim of ending the cycle of violence that has claimed far too many innocent lives”said State Department spokesman Ned Price.

The trip, long in the planning, comes after a major outbreak of violence. Nine Palestinians were killed Thursday in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jeninsaid officials in the occupied territories.

Following the Israeli army incursion, the Palestinian Authority decided to suspend security cooperation with Israel, a decision the United States regretted.

“Obviously, we don’t think this is the right step at this time.said Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East.

“We understand that there were civilian casualties, which is quite unfortunate,” he added, noting that “there is a possibility that things could get worse in terms of security.”

“Far from taking a step back in security coordination, we believe that it is very important that the parties maintain and, in any case, deepen security coordination,” said.

blinken will visit Egypt for the first time on Sunday, a key intermediary between Israelis and Palestinians that has managed to maintain cordial ties with President Biden’s administration despite promises to toughen up over human rights concerns.

During the trip, he will discuss regional issues, including Libya and Sudan, and meet with President Abdel Fatah al Sisi, the State Department reported.

Netanyahu has a strained relationship with Biden’s Democratic Party, having openly campaigned against former President Barack Obama’s Iran policy, and Biden is determined to get off to a good start with his last administration.

the journey of blinken follows a visit by Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that focused largely on Iran, which remains a top concern for Netanyahu.

This will be the fourth trip of blinken to Jerusalem since he became the head of US diplomacy.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.