The landing in Israel of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which marked the first visit to his preferred regional ally since Beniamín Netanyahu retook power, coincided with the escalation of tension in the region. After the Israeli military operation last Thursday in Jenin (nine dead), a brief exchange of fire in Gaza and the Palestinian attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday (seven dead), Blinken requested restraint upon arrival at the Tel Aviv airport, and urged that “all parties contribute to restore calm.”
The White House emissary met with Israeli Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, and President Itzhak Herzog. Tomorrow, Tuesday, he will cross the wall into the West Bank, where he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. First, Blinken remarked that “the death of innocents in terrorist attacks is always a terrible crime, but attacking people outside a place of worship is especially cruel. We deeply condemn what happened.” In turn, he showed revulsion at the celebrations in Palestinian cities after the deadly shooting: “Celebrating revenge against innocents is not the solution.”
The Secretary of State demanded that Israelis and Palestinians avoid further escalation. “It is everyone’s responsibility to adopt the necessary measures to reduce tension. It is the only way to stop a violence that has already claimed too many lives,” he implored.
Blinken’s agenda was scheduled before the sudden deterioration of the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and was intended to focus on the joint strategy to stop the Iranian nuclear plan. After the failure of the negotiations between Tehran and the great powers to resume the 2015 agreement – which sought to limit uranium enrichment in exchange for withdrawing economic sanctions – Jerusalem has already advanced that its policy would be to avoid a nuclear Iran at all costs. Israeli forces were blamed last Sunday for a drone strike on a weapons factory in Isfahan. “The international community has already seen the true face of Iran, and we will work together to stop the threat,” Netanyahu promised.
The Abraham Accords, which involved the normalization of relations between the Jewish state and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, were an important part of the debate. On the table, Netanyahu’s insistent desire to add Saudi Arabia to the list of “new friends”. Informal ties with Riyadh have been years in the making – the Israeli prime minister himself secretly flew to Jeddah in 2020 – but the Arab monarchy demands an end to the military occupation of the West Bank and progress on the two-state solution as conditions for formalizing ties. Netanyahu affirmed that they will work together with Washington to “achieve historic advances that will bring peace, security and prosperity to this part of the world.”
Finally, Blinken intends to solve the crisis that has precipitated in recent days, which led to the cancellation by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of security coordination with Israel. President Abbas has already made similar announcements in the past, which were quickly reversed under pressure from Washington. Faced with the usual Jewish military operations, animosity is growing on the Palestinian street against the ANP security apparatus, classified as a “collaborationist entity” that assists the Israelis in the arrest of armed militants. “We will work to end the Arab-Israeli conflict and find a solution with our Palestinian neighbors,” Netanyahu commented simply.
Internally, the US Secretary of State expressed concern about the “judicial reform” undertaken by the new government, which will significantly limit the independence of justice. Faced with plans to minimize the power of the Supreme Court or control the selection of judges, Blinken stressed the importance of maintaining the separation of powers to preserve the health of Israeli democracy. “We share interests and shared values. We will continue to be two strong democracies,” replied the Israeli prime minister.
The ideological discrepancies of the White House with the new Hebrew Executive are evident, but Joe Biden insisted that he will measure his actions according to the policies adopted by Netanyahu, and not based on the pronouncements of the radical ministers of his executive. In response to last week’s attacks, Netanyahu has vowed to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, heralding clashes with his American ally.