US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday announced plans to reopen a key diplomatic outreach office to the Palestinians and pledged nearly $40 million in new aid – reversing key policies of the Trump administration as he moved to bolster the embattled Palestinian government in the West Bank.
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On his first official visit to the region, Blinken met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders with the immediate aim of shoring up last week's ceasefire that ended 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. He vowed to "rally international support" for the effort while also promising to ensure that none of the aid would reach Hamas.
Blinken repeatedly alluded to the underlying issues of the decades-old conflict and expressed empathy for both sides, but he showed little interest in launching another US push for lasting peace. Instead, he expressed hope for creating a "better environment" that might one day yield peace talks.
Despite these modest aims, Blinken made clear that US President Joe Biden would pursue a more even-handed approach to the region than former US President Donald Trump, who sided overwhelmingly with Israel in virtually every area of disagreement with the Palestinians.
"As I told the president, I'm here to underscore the commitment of the United States to rebuilding the relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people, a relationship built on mutual respect and also a shared conviction that Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve equal measures of security, freedom opportunity, and dignity," he said after a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
In an act with great symbolic meaning, Blinken said the US would reopen its Jerusalem consulate – an office that for years served as the de facto embassy to the Palestinians.
Trump had downgraded its operations and placed them under his ambassador to Israel when he moved the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city in 2018. The embassy move infuriated Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as their capital and led them to sever most ties with the Trump administration.
Blinken did not provide a firm date for the reopening but said that Michael Ratney, a senior US diplomat who has previously served as consul general in Jerusalem, would soon be returning to the region.
Blinken also announced some $38.5 million in additional aid for the Palestinians. In all, the Biden administration has pledged some $360 million to the Palestinians, after the Trump administration cut almost all aid. Tuesday's pledges included $5.5 million in emergency assistance for Gaza.
Blinken promised that any assistance will be kept out of the hands of Hamas, which opposes Israel's right to exist and which Israel and the US consider a terrorist group.
The US is trying to bolster Abbas, who has been sidelined by recent events, in his rivalry with Hamas and on the international stage.
Abbas heads the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, whose forces were driven from Gaza when Hamas seized power there in 2007 after defeating Fatah in elections there. He now administers only parts of the occupied West Bank. Though deeply unpopular at home, he is seen internationally as the representative of the Palestinian people and a key partner in the long-defunct peace process.
The ceasefire that ended the Gaza war on Friday has so far held, but it did not address any of the deeper issues plaguing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, something Blinken acknowledged after meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We know that to prevent a return to violence, we have to use the space created to address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges, and that begins with tackling the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and starting to rebuild," he said.
On Tuesday, the leader of the powerful Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa could provoke fighting across the Middle East. "Jerusalem means a regional war," said Nasrallah, whose group fought Israel in a monthlong war in 2006.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is fighting for his political life after a fourth inconclusive election in two years. He faces mounting criticism from Israelis who say he ended the offensive prematurely, without halting rocket attacks or dealing a heavier blow to Hamas.
In his remarks after his meeting with Blinken, Netanyahu hardly mentioned the Palestinians, warning of a "very powerful" response if Hamas breaks the ceasefire.
Netanyahu spoke of "building economic growth" in the West Bank but said there will be no peace until the Palestinians recognize Israel as a "Jewish state." The Palestinians have long objected to that demand, saying it undermines the rights of Israel's own Palestinian minority.
Blinken repeatedly affirmed what he said was Israel's right to defend itself and said the US would assist Israel in replenishing its Iron Dome rocket-interception system.
Yet he also called on leaders of all sides to chart a "better course" in hopes of laying the groundwork for peace talks aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Biden administration, like most of the international community, believes the "two-state solution" is the only way to resolve the conflict.
He said that could start with a successful reconstruction effort in Gaza, which "has the potential to undermine" Hamas. He also urged all sides to refrain from moves that could escalate tensions or reignite violence. He cited the planned evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli settlement construction, and Palestinian incitement.
Blinken heads to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, which have acted as mediators in the conflict, Wednesday. Egypt succeeded in brokering the Gaza truce after the Biden administration pressed Israel to wind down its offensive.
Biden, meanwhile, is expected to name former senior US State Department official Tom Nides to serve as ambassador to Israel, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Nides is currently the managing director and vice-chairman of the multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley. He previously served as deputy secretary of state for management and resources under Hillary Clinton from 2011 to 2013. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the yet-to-be-announced pick, said Nides has already been formally offered the position.
The president is expected to soon announce the pick, though exact timing remains unclear, according to a second person familiar with the deliberations. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, added that Biden had made his choice for the Israel ambassadorship and vetting was underway.
The White House declined to comment on Nides' forthcoming nomination.
Robert Wexler, a former Democratic congressman from Florida, was also receiving serious consideration for the high-profile post, officials said.
Getting an ambassador in place in Israel has become a high priority for the administration following this month's 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the most significant clashes between Israel and the terrorist group since 2014.
Israelis complained in the weeks following Biden's inauguration in January that he was slow to name his envoy and to reach out to Netanyahu. Some Israeli officials worried that the relative early silence forecast a chillier relationship between the two close allies after Trump's warm embrace.
Biden, who spoke to Netanyahu for the first time about four weeks after his swearing-in, had put off his first call with Netanyahu, in part, because he first wanted to speak with key European allies as he weighed his steps on reviving the Iran nuclear deal hatched during former US President Barack Obama's administration and shelved by the Trump White House.
The official said that even before this month's fighting, the Biden administration's diplomatic efforts with Israel had been complicated by Israel's own chaotic politics in the lead-up to the fourth round of elections there in March.
Nides launched his Washington career in 2006 working for Rep. Tony Coelho, the Democratic majority whip. He also worked for Democratic House Speaker Tom Foley early in his career. Under US President Bill Clinton's administration, he served as chief of staff to US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor. Obama nominated him in 2010 to serve as deputy secretary of state for management and resources.
In addition to his work at Morgan Stanley, Nides has also done stints as a top executive at Fannie Mae, Credit Suisse First Boston, Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group, and the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.
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