The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, expressed Tuesday in Ramallah his sadness after the death of “innocent” Palestinians in the violence of the last months, deploring for the Palestinians “a horizon of hope which narrows”.
On the third and final day of his Middle Eastern tour, the Secretary of State reiterated his calls for de-escalation after the Israeli-Palestinian violence last week which raised fears of the start of a new spiral.
“All parties must take steps to prevent a further escalation of violence and restore calm,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem concluding his evening visit.
During the day, Mr. Blinken expressed his “sadness for the death of innocent Palestinian civilians”, after his meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel.
“What we see now from the Palestinian side is a narrowing horizon of hope, not an expanding horizon and this too, we believe, must change,” he added.
Warning against any move that undermines the Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution, Blinken cited “settlement expansion [israéliennes]the legalization of wild colonies [non autorisées par le gouvernement israélien]demolitions and evictions”.
Some 475,000 Israelis reside in Jewish settlements — illegal under international law — in the West Bank, where an estimated 2.9 million Palestinians live.
Mr Abbas held the Israeli government “responsible for what is happening today, because of its practices which undermine the two-state solution and violate the signed agreements”, while peace negotiations for a settlement of the conflict Israeli-Palestinian have been at a standstill since 2014.
“Constructive ideas on concrete measures”
During an intense diplomatic sequence that began in Egypt on Sunday, Mr. Blinken increased his meetings with senior Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian officials and civil society actors.
“I have heard constructive ideas about concrete steps that can be taken on either side to lower the temperature, foster greater cooperation and strengthen security,” he said in Jerusalem, noting that members of his team were going to stay in the region “to continue the discussions” in this direction.
“We have no illusions that the heightened tensions can be eased overnight, but we are ready to support the efforts,” he added.
Planned for a long time, his tour took a different turn with the access of deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent days.
On Friday, a Palestinian man shot and killed six Israelis and a Ukrainian woman near a synagogue in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the holy city occupied by Israel, before being shot dead. On Saturday a Palestinian injured two Israelis, a father and his son, also in East Jerusalem, before being injured and arrested.
In the West Bank, Israeli guards killed a Palestinian on Sunday and Israeli forces killed a Palestinian on Monday.
The anti-Israel attacks came after Israel’s deadliest raid in years in the West Bank, with 10 Palestinians killed in Jenin on Thursday, followed by rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and retaliatory Israeli strikes.
“Absolute support” for the “occupation”
In the wake of the attacks in East Jerusalem, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, the most right-wing in the history of Israel, announced measures aimed at sanctioning the relatives of the perpetrators of the attacks.
On Sunday, Israeli forces sealed off the home of the family of Friday’s attacker, with a view to destroying it, and that of the assailant who carried out the attack on Saturday was also to be sealed off .
The escalation came after the deadliest year in the West Bank since 2005, according to the UN. In 2022, the violence left 235 dead, nearly 90% Palestinian, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
In Gaza, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade for more than 15 years, the Islamist movement Hamas which runs it judged that Mr. Blinken’s visit reflected “absolute support” for the Israeli “occupation”.