U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Tuesday morning, marking the diplomat’s 11th visit since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem office on Tuesday afternoon, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Blinken is also scheduled to meet separately with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Jerusalem. On Tuesday evening, the secretary of state is slated to meet in Tel Aviv separately with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and President Isaac Herzog.
As part of his Middle East tour this week, Blinken will “discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the U.S. State Department said on Monday.
“How about alleviating the suffering of the Israeli people who continue to get killed and maimed by Khamenei-backed terrorists?” wrote Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “I lost a good friend yesterday, a Druze Arab hero, who died defending Israel from [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s death cult.”
Foggy Bottom said Blinken’s travels in the region will extend from Monday to Friday. During the State Department’s press briefing on Monday, Vedant Patel, the department’s principal deputy spokesman, told reporters that Blinken “will be wheels up later this afternoon, heading to Israel and other countries in the Middle East.
“In Israel, the secretary will reaffirm the United States ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and emphasize advancing enduring peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Patel said.
Throughout his trip, Blinken will also “continue discussions with counterparts on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’s tyranny,” Patel added. “The secretary will also underscore that additional food, medicine and other urgently needed humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza.”
The secretary will also address “the need to reach a diplomatic resolution in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that fully implements U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line [Israel-Lebanon border] to return to their homes,” Patel said. “Lastly, he will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and provide lasting stability.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that the secretary’s trip is essentially political theater.
“Blinken is a lame duck secretary of state, speaking for a lame duck president two weeks before an election, which makes his influence extraordinarily limited, as leaders wait to see who’s going to be president in January,” he said. “His trip is a combination of domestic political management and Hail Mary policymaking by a dying administration.”