WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – US Secretary of State Blinken wants to visit Israel and the West Bank again this week to talk about the Gaza war and the situation of the hostages taken by the terrorist organization Hamas. He will also address Israel’s right to self-defense and discuss the protection of civilians during Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Ministry spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday evening (local time) in Washington. Blinken also wants to discuss further steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state and the need to prevent the conflict from spreading.
His ministry did not say when Blinken would arrive in the Middle East region. The USA is an ally of Israel, which is taking action against the organization with a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip following the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th. It would be Blinken’s third visit since the conflict began. There has been a ceasefire since Friday, during which hostages taken to the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners from Israel were exchanged. The break in fighting was extended until Thursday.
According to his ministry, Blinken will be at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Belgium by Wednesday and then travel to North Macedonia for a meeting with colleagues from member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The visit to the Middle East should take place afterwards./jon/DP/mis