As the war that began with Hamas’ invasion of Israel on the 7th of last month continued for a month, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken met with Israeli and Arab leaders after visiting the Middle East with a ‘stop humane engagement’ arbitration, but was rejected on both sides.
In his second visit to the Middle East, Secretary Blinken, who is also on the verge of ’empty diplomacy’, made a surprise visit to the West Bank of Palestine before leaving for Turkiye on the 5th (local time) to meet with Mahmud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to discuss post-war regime of Gaza.
President Rezef Tayyip Erdogan of Turkiye, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and warned the International Criminal Court (ICC) of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal. U.S. policy in the Middle East is in a dilemma, and Iran’s breath towards the rage of the Arab world is growing.
Secretary Blinken visited Israel and Amman, Jordan, one after another on the 3rd and 4th, and offered to “stop the war” but all were rejected. Repeatedly underscoring the independent “two-state solution” between Israel and Palestine, he nailed that there should be no expansion into a war that sparked the participation of Lebanese militants and Iranian forces. But Netanyahu “rejects a temporary ceasefire that does not involve the return of hostages” and stressed that he would not delay the offensive.
At a meeting with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization on the 4th, Blinken turned to ’empty hands’. The Arab world, which has been raged by civilian casualties in Gaza, defines Israel’s offensive as a war crime and “should not reign over international law. Get a truce right now,” he said.
With only ostensibly confirming the difference in positions between the two sides, Secretary Blinken headed to Turkiye for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the 5th (local time). President Erdogan has summoned his ambassador to Israel and turned his back on him, saying “Prime Minister Netanyahu is not a conversation partner.” “We support a plan to bring Israel’s human rights violations and war crimes to the International Criminal Court,” he said, adding that “our foreign ministry will lead this work.”
President Erdogan explained that he will discuss the issue of a ceasefire in Gaza at the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this month. U.S. President Joe Biden raised his thumb when asked if there was any progress in negotiations to stop humanitarian engagement with Secretary Blinken’s trip to the Middle East, saying “yes,” drawing attention to the results of the actual underwater negotiations.
Iran’s move to expand its influence in the Middle East in the wake of this war is also unusual. Iranian President Ephraim Laish visits Turkiye later this month to discuss a ceasefire. Iranian state-owned IRNA news agency also reported that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya recently secretly met with Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei Iran’s top leader.
After Israeli forces raided an ambulance in Gaza that was transporting critically ill patients on the 3rd, the evacuation of foreigners, the middlemen and critically ill patients outside the Rapha border was also suspended. Reuters reported that the Rapa checkpoint, the only evacuation corridor, has been closed again, citing Egyptian security sources. The Israelis besieged Gaza and mobilized all land, sea, and air forces to carry out military operations, asking for the cooperation of the residents to remove another Hamas leader, Yahia Sinwar.
Protests around the world, including Washington, D.C. and Europe, are calling for an immediate ceasefire, condemning Israel for the victims of civilians in Gaza. Former U.S. President Barack Obama condemned Hamas, expressed regret for the sacrifice of Palestinian civilians, and acknowledged the responsibility of a policy that “no one’s hands are clean” and failed to achieve sustainable peace.
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
