The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken left Washington on Monday for Israel, two weeks before the presidential election in the United States, in the hope of capitalizing on the death of the Hamas leader and achieving a cease-fire. fire in the Gaza Strip.
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The White House, however, immediately sought to temper expectations. “I can’t tell you that negotiations will resume in Doha, Cairo or anywhere else,” spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
This is the 11th trip to the Middle East by the US Secretary of State since the start of the devastating war in Gaza, provoked by the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023 in Israel.
During his last visit to Israel in August, Mr. Blinken warned that this was perhaps the “last chance” to obtain a ceasefire in Gaza under the aegis of the mediating countries: States -United States, Qatar and Egypt.
The attempt failed, the conflict has since intensified, and even expanded to Lebanon against Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and close to Hamas. The international community is also feverishly awaiting the Israeli response to the attack by Iran, which launched 200 missiles towards Israel in early October.
But President Joe Biden, who himself presented on May 31 a three-phase ceasefire plan in Gaza providing for the release of hostages still held by Hamas, saw the opportunity to relaunch negotiations, at stalled since the summer, after the death of the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Yahya Sinouar, killed last week by Israel.
“The time has come to move forward, to move towards a ceasefire,” the American president declared last Friday in Germany, announcing that he was sending his head of diplomacy to the region.
‘Much more help’
The secretary of state’s trip comes days after he and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin warned Israel that the United States could withhold billions of dollars of its military aid if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not allow, within 30 days, the entry of humanitarian aid into the devastated Palestinian territory where Israeli strikes continue, particularly in the north.
The UN has described the humanitarian situation there as catastrophic.
“We need to see a lot more aid entering Gaza,” argued the White House, which specifies that this will be one of the main topics of discussion with the Israelis.
The war in the Gaza Strip is poisoning the end of President Joe Biden’s mandate and could harm vice-president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, engaged in an ultra-tight race against Republican Donald Trump for the November 5 election.
Many Democrats are offended by the almost unconditional support provided by the United States to Israel.
Donald Trump, for his part, accuses the Democratic administration of putting obstacles in the way of the Israeli leader, by trying to “retain” him, who calls on him, on the contrary, to “finish the job” in Gaza.
“The Day After”
Antony Blinken will arrive in Israel on Tuesday for a series of interviews, before visiting several Arab capitals until Friday, according to the State Department, which did not specify which ones.
He will “discuss the importance of ending the war in Gaza, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the State Department said in a statement.
He will also argue for a “diplomatic solution” in Lebanon, where the United States has stopped short of demanding an immediate ceasefire.
It will also be a question of preparing for the “day after” the war in terms of reconstruction and governance in the Palestinian territory where the task promises to be gigantic, according to the State Department.
Few concrete details have filtered out on these preparations, in particular as to who will be able to provide security, but the Arab countries have said they are not ready to foot the bill alone without the prospect of creating a Palestinian state, which Israel rejects. .
At the same time, the United States is holding out the possibility of normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which would constitute a historic turning point in the region.
