(Washington) The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken begins Sunday in Egypt a whirlwind tour of the Middle East in the midst of an outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence, with the slim hope of using the influence of the United States to try to calm tensions down.
The trip, which will take him to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday after the Cairo stage, has been planned for a long time but comes when, in a few days, the security situation has suddenly deteriorated.
An attack near a synagogue in East Jerusalem on Friday killed 7 people, while the Israeli army struck the same day in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian micro-territory.
And this after an Israeli raid on Thursday in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, the deadliest in years.
A father and son were also shot and wounded on Saturday by a 13-year-old boy in a new Palestinian attack in East Jerusalem.
Faced with this resurgence of violence, Mr. Blinken must plead with Israeli leaders Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas the need to “take urgent measures for de-escalation”, assured Friday a spokesperson for the State Department. , Vedant Patel, after Washington condemned the “appalling” attack in East Jerusalem.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is also likely to dominate the interview with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, Cairo historically playing an intermediary role with the Palestinians.
But the Secretary of State’s room for maneuver seems limited beyond repeated calls for calm, as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to be at an impasse.
Experts interviewed by AFP did not expect significant breakthroughs on Washington’s ability to influence the course of events, even if the United States should once again hammer home its support for the solution of the two Israeli and Palestinian states.
“I think the best they can get is for things to stabilize in order to avoid a repeat of May 2021,” said Aaron David Miller, former US negotiator and expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. , referring to the war in Gaza.
Ghaith Al-Omari, an expert from the Washington Institute, believes that “this visit does not signal any change in the American position with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” but, he predicts, “the conversation (with Mahmoud Abbas) is not going to be pleasant “.
Waterfall tours
Mr. Blinken’s visit to Israel reflects Washington’s desire to quickly reconnect with returning Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who now heads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.
His relations with President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration have been notoriously strained, particularly over Iran’s nuclear, but the fact that any resurrection of the 2015 deal is currently in limbo should facilitate dialogue.
It comes after that of the National Security Advisor of the White House, Jake Sullivan, who had assured the Israeli Prime Minister of the support of the United States.
“I have never seen so many visits at such a high level under any administration,” said Aaron David Miller.
“It’s unprecedented,” he adds, referring to a possible arrival in preparation of Mr. Netanyahu at the White House as early as February.
“It’s a bit like flooding the area,” adds another expert, David Makovsky of the Washington Institute, according to whom CIA director William Burns recently visited the region.
During his trip, Mr. Blinken will insist on “the importance of maintaining the historic status quo” on the esplanade of the Mosques in East Jerusalem.
The visit to this holy place in early January by the figure of the Israeli far right and new Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, had sparked a wave of international condemnation.
The Abraham Accords, a process of normalization between Israel and several Arab countries, should also be on the menu of discussions, Mr. Netanyahu cherishing the hope of rallying Saudi Arabia to it.
In Cairo, Mr. Blinken was to discuss Sunday with the Egyptian authorities, in addition to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a series of regional questions, including on Libya and Sudan.
Washington has cordial relations with Egypt, which is a major recipient of US military aid, but often tinged with embarrassment on the issue of human rights.
The head of American diplomacy must also meet in Cairo with actors from civil society and human rights activists, indicated a senior State Department official, Barbara Leaf.