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Blinken reaches out to Palestinians on trip

Blinken reaches out

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is taking a different path than the Trump administration in dealing with the Palestinians. During a trip to the region after the Israeli-Gaza ceasefire, he announced nearly $40 million in new aid. The Associated Press has the story:

Blinken taking different approach from Trump administration to Palestinians

JERUSALEM (AP) — 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.

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 cease-fire that ended 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants 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.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, days after an Egypt-brokered truce halted fighting between the Jewish state and the Gaza Strip’s rulers Hamas. (Menahem Kahana/Pool Photo via AP)

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 U.S. push for lasting peace, perhaps because previous efforts by past administrations have all failed. Instead, he expressed hope for creating a “better environment” that might one day yield peace talks.

Related: Blinken Wraps Up Middle East Tour After Cease-Fire

Despite these modest aims, Blinken made clear that President Joe Biden will pursue a more even-handed approach to the region than former President Donald Trump, who sided overwhelmingly with Israel in virtually every area of disagreement with the Palestinians.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint statement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s office, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Jerusalem, Israel. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

“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 President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

Blinken says the U.S. will reopen its Jerusalem consulate

In an act with great symbolic meaning, Blinken said the U.S. 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 U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city in 2018. The embassy move infuriated the Palestinians, who claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital, and led them to sever most ties with the Trump administration.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, stands with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, upon arrival at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Blinken has arrived in Israel at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Blinken did not provide a firm date for the reopening but said that Michael Ratney, a senior U.S. 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.

Palestinians hold signs that read: “Blinken, get out,” during a protest against the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. Blinken has vowed to “rally international support” to aid Gaza during a visit to Israel at the start of a regional tour to shore up last week’s cease-fire. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

The 11-day war killed more than 250 people, mostly Palestinians, and caused heavy destruction in the impoverished coastal territory.

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 U.S. consider a terrorist group.

The U.S. is trying to bolster Abbas, who has been sidelined by recent events, in his rivalry with Hamas and on the international stage.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, Pool)

Abbas heads the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, whose forces were driven from Gaza when Hamas seized power there in 2007. 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 truce 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 Israeli 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.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is seated with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, second from right, before their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Jerusalem, Israel. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

A hawkish Israeli leadership that seems unwilling to make major concessions

Those challenges include a hawkish Israeli leadership that seems unwilling to make major concessions, Palestinian divisions, years of mistrust and deeply rooted tensions surrounding Jerusalem and its holy sites.

Related: Palestinians Injured In Clash With Police At Al-Aqsa Mosque

The war was triggered by weeks of clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on a hilltop compound revered by Jews and Muslims that has seen several outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence over the years. The protests were directed at Israel’s policing of the area during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

The truce remains tenuous since tensions are still high in Jerusalem and the fate of the Palestinian families is not yet resolved.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center left, walks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s office, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Jerusalem, Israel. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

On Tuesday, the leader of the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said that 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 cease-fire.

Netanyahu spoke of “building economic growth” in the occupied 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 U.S. would assist Israel in replenishing its Iron Dome rocket-interception system.

But 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 east Jerusalem, Israeli settlement construction and Palestinian incitement.

Blinken on Wednesday heads to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, which have acted as mediators in the conflict. Egypt succeeded in brokering the Gaza truce after the Biden administration pressed Israel to wind down its offensive.

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By JOSEF FEDERMAN

Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

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