Tue 25 May 2021:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials, among other regional leaders, following last week’s cease-fire agreement between Israel and Gaza.
In tandem with Blinken’s mission, Israeli authorities said they were allowing fuel, medicine and food earmarked for Gaza’s private sector to enter the territory for the first time since the ceasefire was called, on May 21.
As part of a three-day trip, Blinken will visit Israel, the West Bank, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman. He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah.
At the request of President Biden, I am traveling to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo, and Amman to meet with the parties to support their efforts to solidify a ceasefire. The United States has engaged in intensive diplomacy to bring an end to the hostilities and reduce tensions.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 24, 2021
But it is his planned meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders that will define his trip as the region emerges from 11 days of hostilities between Israel Defense Forces and Hamas.
Israeli strikes on Gaza this month killed 248 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded almost 2,000 people, the Gaza health ministry said.
While rockets and other fire coming from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Arab-Israeli teenager, an Israeli soldier, one Indian, and two Thai nationals, medics said. Some 357 people in Israel were injured.
US President Joe Biden has said a two-state solution was the only answer to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict and pledged a major package with other countries to help rebuild Gaza. Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations collapsed in 2014.
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