US’ Blinken arrives in Israel amid Middle East tour

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Monday from Egypt on the second leg of his tour in the Middle East region.

Blinken was welcomed by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen upon arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport.

During his two-day stay, the chief US diplomat will also visit the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials.

Blinken is the third high-ranking US official to visit the region since the formation of the current Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William Burns.

According to the State Department, Blinken will discuss with Israeli officials the enduring US support for Israel’s security, particularly against threats from Iran.

The talks will also take up Israel’s deepening integration into the region, Israeli-Palestinian relations and the importance of a two-state solution, and a range of other global and regional issues.

In the West Bank, Blinken will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior officials to discuss Israeli-Palestinian relations, political reforms, and further strengthening the US relationship with the Palestinians.

Blinken’s visit comes amid rising violence in the Palestinian territories in recent days.

At least seven Israelis were killed in a shooting attack near a synagogue in an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem Friday night, a day after nine Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat