Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and Jordan this week as his role as a diplomat comes into play. Blinken knows he has a very full plate as he attempts to work out a deal on the over 240 hostages back from Hamas who were brutally taken from Israel on October 7th.
Matthew Miller the chief spokesperson for the State Department said Blinken would once again underscore the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself but also stress the importance of minimizing civilian casualties and ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
At today’s briefing in Tel Aviv by the Office of the Prime Minister spokesperson Tal Heinrich was about to deliver her opening remarks when a rocket blast was heard in the distance and the video feed was interrupted for about five minutes before she reappeared on the screen. Heinrich did a great job of collecting herself and continuing the briefing.
“We always are happy to welcome Secretary Blinken to Israel and look forward to what he has to say,” Heinrich said about the visit. She also drove home the point Israel is not interested in a ceasefire until all the hostages are returned by Hamas and the terrorist group surrenders.
Meanwhile, Miller in his statement said that Blinken will push Israeli officials to rein in violence being committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and will be re-stating U.S. backing for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Blinken will also so visit Jordan in hopes of building support in the region to return the hostages help end the war and be part of an international group to achieve the peaceful building of a Gaza where Palestinians can live in peace with Israel.
To that end in the United States Senate, two Democrats Chris Van Hollan from Maryland and Richard Blumenthal of the state of Connecticut spoke about how a possible international peacekeeping group might work.
“There are ongoing conversations regarding the possible composition of an international force,” Van Hollen said, but he would not go into detail. “They are very preliminary and fragile. “I do think it’d be important to have some kind of multinational force in Gaza as a transition to whatever comes next,” he continued.
There certainly has been discussion with the Saudis about their being part of some international peacekeeping force if only to provide resources, and longer term, support Palestinian leadership and a separate state. Reconstruction of Gaza will require a vast number of resources, which the Saudis potentially could help provide,” Blumenthal said.
