Blinken set to visit Israel for 11th time since Oct. 7
During a trip to the Middle East, including Israel, this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will “discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the U.S. State Department said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane at Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, Md., en route to the Middle East, Oct. 21, 2024. Credit: Chuck Kennedy/U.S. State Department.
Foggy Bottom said that Blinken’s travels in the region will extend from Monday to Friday. During the State Department’s press briefing on Monday, Vedant Patel, the department’s principal deputy spokesman, told reporters that Blinken “will be wheels up later this afternoon, heading to Israel and other countries in the Middle East.”
“In Israel, the secretary will reaffirm the United States ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and emphasize advancing enduring peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Patel said.
Throughout his trip, Blinken will also “continue discussions with counterparts on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’s tyranny,” Patel added. “The secretary will also underscore that additional food, medicine and other urgently needed humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza.”
The U.S. secretary will also address “the need to reach a diplomatic resolution in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that fully implements U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return to their homes,” Patel said. “Lastly, he will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and providing lasting stability.”
Patel told the Associated Press diplomatic writer Matt Lee that “at this point, we’ll—we can certainly share that he will be going to Israel, but additional stops are to be announced.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that the secretary’s trip is essentially political theater.
“Blinken is a lame duck secretary of state, speaking for a lame duck president two weeks before an election, which makes his influence extraordinarily limited, as leaders wait to see who’s going to be president in January,” he said. “His trip is a combination of domestic political management and Hail Mary policymaking by a dying administration.”
This will be the 11th time since the Israel-Hamas war that Blinken has visited the Middle East, the Associated Press reported.
“Will this visit be more successful than the 10 previous ones since Oct. 7?” wrote Massoud Maalouf, a former Lebanese ambassador.
“How about alleviating the suffering of the Israeli people who continue to get killed and maimed by Khamenei-backed terrorists?” wrote Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “I lost a good friend yesterday, a Druze Arab hero, who died defending Israel from Khamenei’s death cult.”
