Blinken meets with Arab leaders, hopes to contain war
DOHA, QATAR>> On another urgent diplomatic mission to the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Sunday with Arab partners to press for their help in tamping down resurgent fears that Israel’s three-month war against Hamas in Gaza could spread.
In discussions with Qatar’s emir and Jordan’s king, Blinken spoke of the need for Israel to adjust its military operations to reduce civilian casualties and significantly boost the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, while stressing the importance of preparing detailed plans for the post-conflict future of the Palestinian territory, which has been decimated by Israeli bombardments.
The mission — that will also take him to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt before he returns to Washington — is Blinken’s fourth to the region since the war began.
After a day of talks with Turkish and Greek leaders in Istanbul and Crete, Blinken met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman before traveling to Doha for talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to seek buyin for U.S. efforts to tamp down resurgent fears that the war could engulf the region, ramp up aid to Gaza and prepare for an eventual end of hostilities.
“This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and even more suffering,” Blinken told reporters during a joint news conference with Sheikh Mohammed. “So from Day 1, among other priorities, we have been intensely focused on working to prevent the conflict from spreading.”
Blinken said it is has been a major focus of his discussion with all of the leaders he has met with in recent days. “We share a commitment to ensure that the conflict does not expand,” he said.
He said they also have discussed what each country can do once the conflict is over “to provide the assurances and the incentives required to build a more secure and more stable, more peaceful future for the region.”
“And my takeaway from the discussion so far, including here with our friends in Qatar, is that our partners are willing to have these difficult conversations and to make hard decisions. All of us feel a stake in forging the way forward.”
Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of Israel’s actions and have eschewed public support for long-term planning, arguing that the fighting must end before such discussions can begin. They have been demanding a cease-fire since mid-october as civilian casualties began to skyrocket.
After his talks with Blinken, Sheikh Mohammed called for an immediate cease-fire, saying the constant images of death and destruction in Gaza are de-sensitizing people to the horrors of what is happening.
“This is a big test for our humanity,” he said. “We are looking for a sustainable future, however the focus is now on stopping the fighting.”
King Abdullah “warned of the catastrophic repercussions” of the war in Gaza while calling on the U.S. to press for an immediate cease-fire, a statement from the Royal Court said.
Israel has refused to agree to a cease-fire and the U.S. has instead called for specified temporary “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid to get in and people to get to safety.
In Amman, Blinken also toured the World Food Program’s regional coordination warehouse, where trucks are being packed with aid to be delivered to Gaza through both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
He commended the work of the WFP and other U.N. agencies as well as the government of Jordan to get assistance into Gaza.
“The efforts right here to collect and distribute food to people in need are absolutely essential,” Blinken said. “The United States has worked from Day 1 to open access routes into Gaza.”