The US Secretary of State holds talks with the Egyptian president and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia on his latest tour of the Middle East.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and reiterated the call for a truce in the war in Gaza and support for the two-state solution, reported the United States Department of State. saying.
The meetings over the past two days are part of Blinken's sixth trip to the Middle East since the war broke out.
In his talks with the Saudi crown prince in Jeddah, Blinken “underscored the importance of urgently addressing humanitarian needs” in Gaza, the State Department said in a statement.
“Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States' commitment to achieving a lasting end to the crisis in Gaza and the establishment of a future Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel,” he added.
Blinken traveled to Cairo, where he met with senior Egyptian officials, including El Sisi.
“Secretary Blinken and President El-Sisi discussed negotiations to secure an immediate ceasefire for at least six weeks and the release of all hostages,” the State Department said.
“They also discussed ongoing efforts to protect Palestinian civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza and Egypt's essential leadership role in facilitating increased humanitarian assistance.”
Secretary Blinken also reaffirmed Washington's “rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,” according to the statement.
United Nations experts have warned that famine is imminent in Gaza as a result of Israel's blockade.
In a major speech earlier this month, Biden warned Israel against using humanitarian assistance to Gaza as a “bargaining chip.”
On Monday, the White House also warned Israel against a major ground attack on the crowded city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge since being displaced.
The Israeli military has killed nearly 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking more than 200 captive.
Despite the rising Palestinian death toll and the destruction of much of Gaza, the Biden administration has continued its financial and diplomatic support for Israel. The White House is working with Congress to secure more than $14 billion in additional aid for America's ally.
Washington has also vetoed three UN Security Council proposals that would have called for a ceasefire.
Instead of calling for an end to the war, the Biden administration has worked to secure a pause in hostilities to allow the release of captives captured in Israel on October 7 and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
The top American diplomat has traveled to the region several times to finalize the truce agreement. Later on Thursday, the US secretary of state met with Arab diplomats from across the region.
Blinken is ready to conclude his trip in Israel. The visit will be the first since officials from Biden's Democratic Party stepped up their criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for new elections in Israel to replace Netanyahu, comments the Israeli prime minister described as “totally inappropriate.”
Still, the Biden administration has signaled that it will continue its pro-Israel policies.
The State Department said Blinken and Crown Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia discussed “further integration between countries in the region” during their meeting.
The Biden administration has used “integration” to refer to the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab states, a process more commonly known as “normalization.” But the American push to establish official ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel has been complicated by the Gaza conflict.
Last month, after the White House suggested that normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel are continuing despite the war in Gaza, the kingdom denied the account in a strongly worded statement.
“The kingdom has communicated its firm position to the US administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that Israeli aggression on the Strip Gaza ceases and all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said at the time.
Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, emphasizing that Israel must maintain security control over the Palestinian territory.
