US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his West Asia visit on Monday (Nov 6) and rushed to Japan to attend the G7 summit after admitting he failed to generate a consensus on sustained ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza.
Blinken spent the last four days talking and touring throughout the region, holding discussions with the leaders of Palestine, Israel, Iraq and Jordan. On Monday, in the last leg of his trip to West Asia, he landed in Ankara to talk to his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
After this meeting, Blinken admitted that his efforts to secure a greater constraint in Israel’s assault on Gaza were still “a work in progress”.
Blinken walking a fine line
Blinken in his statement tried to strike a balance while talking about humanitarian pauses in the Gaza conflict.
“We know the deep concern here for the terrible toll on Palestinians – on men, women, and children in Gaza, innocent civilians – a concern that we share and that we’re working on every single day. We’ve engaged the Israelis on steps that they can take to minimise civilian casualties. We’re working very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Blinken said.
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“I think you’ll see in the days ahead that assistance can expand in significant ways so that more gets to people who need it as well as making sure that people can continue to come out of Gaza,” he added.
West Asian countries demanding a ceasefire
West Asian nations are demanding the US wield its influence on Israel to stop the conflict and implement a ceasefire.
They also argue that the US was not doing so since it believed a complete annihilation of Hamas was achievable at an acceptable price.
Further escalation
Meanwhile, even as Blinken was yet to forge a regional consensus to calm things down, further escalation erupted on the volatile Lebanon-Israel border between IDF and Hezbollah.
Also, Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Israel on Saturday morning, a move welcomed by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said: “Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have written him off.”
(With inputs from agencies)
