Blinken’s intense nine-day diplomatic tour of the Middle East and Asia marks his second frenetic Mideast trip since the war began with Hamas’ deadly incursion into southern Israel on October 7th. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack. Blinken’s tour focused largely on the war amid growing international outrage over the destruction wrought on Gaza and demands for an immediate cease-fire. Neither Israel nor the United States support a cease-fire because they argue Hamas would take advantage of it to regroup and launch new terror attacks. Blinken said the US has come up with additional proposals on how better to protect civilians but did not elaborate. US officials have said they would like to see Israel introduce longer “humanitarian pauses” in areas beyond the two established safe passage and exponentially expand the amount of assistance getting into Gaza from Egypt by increasing the flow of truck convoys. The US also remains resolute to secure the release of Israeli and other hostages held by Hamas, get all foreigners who want to leave Gaza out, prevent the violence from spreading to the broader region, and to begin planning for what a post-conflict Gaza will look like, Blinken said. Starting last week, Blinken’s marathon mission took him to eight countries — Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Iraq, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and India — as well as the occupied West Bank. But as he did on his previous Mideast tour last month, he encountered skepticism and outright resistance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last Friday rejected the idea of “humanitarian pauses,” saying military pressure on Hamas could not be eased. “We are going full steam ahead,” Netanyahu said shortly after Blinken warned that Palestinians were being driven toward further radicalism that could perpetuate the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict and leave Israel at greater risk. During Blinken’s trip, both Jordan and Turkey recalled their ambassadors to Israel in protest and made clear that Israeli envoys to their countries would not be welcomed back until the conflict was over. By the time Blinken had visited Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, made a brief stop in Cyprus, and flown on to Iraq and Turkey on Sunday, it appeared he had won little, if any, support for most of his proposals. Privately, however, U.S. officials said they were making headway with Netanyahu on the humanitarian pauses and increased aid to Gaza and that the Arab states would in the interim support temporary pauses. Leaving Ankara on Monday, Blinken acknowledged his efforts remained “a work in progress” while U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, insisted prospects for at least some success were not so bleak. In Tokyo on Tuesday, where Blinken attended a Japanese-hosted meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies, there were fears that the bloc, which has overcome differences to remain united against Russia’s war in Ukraine, might split over the Middle East. Both Japan and France, along with the European Union, had taken less forceful stances in support of Israel. Behind the scenes, U.S. officials said momentum was shifting. Israeli officials were beginning to warm to the idea that temporary rolling pauses could both benefit Israel militarily and show its willingness to ease civilian hardship. As the US seeks to rein in Israel, amid a spiraling death toll, FRANCE 24’s Shona Bhattacharyya is joined by Dr Christopher Morris, Teaching Fellow in the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Portsmouth.
US ‘tacit support’ will not waver as it seeks to exert influence over Israel for regional stability
