Iran Press/ Africa: After a stop in Cairo, Antony Blinken will travel on Monday and Tuesday to the occupied Jerusalem al Quds and Ramallah, where he will meet the Zionist regime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, respectively.
Blinken’s trip had been planned with Netanyahu’s new right-wing government being the focal point, as concerns over the future of Tel Aviv’s direction and stalled peace talks with the Palestinians loomed large.
Last Thursday, the Zionist regime military martyred at least nine Palestinians in one of the deadliest days in the occupied West Bank since Israeli raids intensified at the start of last year.
In two retaliatory operations on Friday, 10 Israelis were killed and dozens were wounded in separate shooting attacks near a synagogue in the settlement of Neve Yaakov, eastern Jerusalem al Quds in the deadliest heroic attack the Zionists have seen in years.
In talks with the new Bibi administration, which includes ultra-nationalist parties that want to ramp up settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories, Blinken will repeat the United States calls for calm and emphasize Washington’s support for a two-state solution.
Blinken will also travel to Ramallah to meet Abbas, other Palestinian officials, and members of civil society. With both leaders, Blinken will call “broadly for steps to be taken to de-escalate tensions”, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Analysts questioned whether Blinken could achieve any breakthroughs.
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