The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, begins on Monday (04/29/2024) a tour of the Near East that will take him to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, as part of the “ongoing efforts” to achieve a halt to the fire in Gaza, official sources reported.
Blinken will be in Saudi Arabia on Monday to participate in a ministerial meeting with regional partners within the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“The Secretary will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that ensures the release of hostages and how Hamas stands between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire,” the State Department announced in a statement. released this weekend.
The head of American diplomacy will then head to Israel and Jordan, on a trip that will last until Wednesday, the State Department announced, after the American and Israeli leaders discussed talks on the release of hostages by telephone.
Hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners
The latest ceasefire proposal, presented in several rounds of talks in Qatar and Egypt, includes a six-week cessation of hostilities and the release of some hostages by the Hamas terrorist movement, in exchange for the handover of hundreds of prisoners. Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
Hamas said it will “study” the proposal and does not see “major problems” with its text.
This is Blinken’s second recent trip to Saudi Arabia. Last month, he visited the country to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discuss the hostage releases by Hamas.
Recognize two states
Saudi Arabia’s role could be fundamental within a hypothetical broader agreement in which it would normalize relations with the Jewish State while materializing the two-state solution (one for Israel and the other for the Palestinians) and ceasefire negotiations were completed, US diplomatic sources reported days ago.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community to “commit to its obligations” and recognize the State of Palestine, just as it did with Israel, ending the historic conflict between both parties.
The special meeting of the WEF, which will last until tomorrow, will focus on the war in the Gaza Strip and will have the participation of the “key actors” in mediating the conflict, such as Blinken himself or the foreign ministers of Egypt and Qatar, among others.
However, on April 19 in the United Nations Security Council, the United States vetoed a resolution presented by Algeria that recommended the entry of Palestine as a full member of the organization, of which until now it is only an observer state. .
gs (efe, afp)
