Washington, United States: Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, will start a new official tour to the Middle East region on Friday, November 3, 2023. The details of the tour were shared by a spokesperson of the US State Department.
Accordingly, this trip has been scheduled amid the time when the war against Israel and militant group Hamas has intensified.
According to the news agency, on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that during this meeting, he will be meeting with the members of the Israeli authorities. Miller was quoted saying, “Secretary Blinken will travel to Israel on Friday for meetings with members of the Israeli government and then will make other stops in the region.”
The reports regarding this visit were already published by the Israeli media – which cited the officials from Israel.
It is to be noted that this will be Blinken’s second trip to Israel following the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Antony Blinken’s first tour to Israel
Earlier, Blinken visited Israel and met the higher authorities to show the support of the United States towards the nation. This meeting was scheduled a few days after the Hamas militants attacked Israel.
At that time, Blinken also visited other countries in the region and interacted with the authorities to extend their support to Israel. The US diplomat marked a round trip from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and back to Israel.
Further, Blinken accompanied President Joe Biden to the meetings with officials of the Israeli government on October 18. During this visit, the US leaders also met with the victims of the war. It was a one-day visit to Tel Aviv.
Israel-Hamas conflict, US’ role
According to the details shared by Israeli health authorities, the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7 killed more than 1,400 people. Besides this, the militants seized more than 230 people, some of whom were Americans.
This attack was retaliated by the Israeli Defense Force with continuous air strikes and bombardments – which claimed the lives of around 8,500 people, as per the data shared by the health ministry of Gaza. The continuous bombing by the Israeli authorities has sparked widespread anger across the region and the world.
It is well-known that the United States is the biggest supporter of Israel and it has been providing substantial military aid. In this regard, Biden recently requested Congress to give a green flag to the additional funding for Israel and Ukraine.
Antony Blinken’s remarks on the funding request
The US Secretary of the State, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday, addressed the Senate hearing at the US Capitol, during which he defended the funding request. However, he was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors, who were continuously shouting, “Ceasefire now,” “Palestinians are no animals,” and “Shame on you all.”
In addition to this, Blinken shared his concern over the current conflict. He expressed that the Palestinian Authority must come forward and should take control of the Gaza Strip from the militant group – Hamas. It is to be noted that the territory was ruled by the Palestine government till 2007.