U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East this week, President Joe Biden said, as the U.S. continues to try to cement a fragile cease-fire that ended renewed conflict in Gaza.
Biden announced the trip in a written statement Monday morning, though offered few details. He tasked Blinken with building ties with both Israelis and Palestinians.
It’s the latest sign that the U.S. will be called upon to steer peace efforts in the region at a time when Biden had signaled other foreign policy priorities, including reorienting supply chains and doing more to compete with China. Biden’s response to the conflict was muted for days, part of what his administration called “quiet diplomacy.”
Blinken “will meet with Israeli leaders about our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Biden said. “He will continue our Administration’s efforts to rebuild ties to, and support for, the Palestinian people and leaders, after years of neglect.”
Biden said Blinken will also “engage other key parters in the region,” though he didn’t identify them, to ensure aid reaches Gaza and skirts the control of Hamas.
On Sunday, Blinken told ABC’s “This Week” that next steps toward peace include addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“President Biden’s focus on relentless, determined, but quiet diplomacy is what got us to where we needed to be, which was to get the violence ended as quickly as possible, to stop more human suffering, and to at least put ourselves in a position to make a turn, to make a pivot to building something more positive,” he said.
