In a new report from the Associated Press, on Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken departed the Middle East following escalating tensions, notably strained relations between the United States and Israel.
Blinken had returned from the region following Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that the conflict between Israel and Hamas would continue until Israel was completely victorious in addition to disregarding a response from Hamas for a potential cease-fire.
The Negotiations
The relationship between Israel and the United States has been tested because of the conflict. In addition, the UN has condemned the territory for its tactics as the death toll continues to rise. However, Blinken and other officials remain optimistic that their goals of improving the humanitarian conditions for civilians, securing hostages, and post-conflict plans for Gaza can still be met. Blinken stated, "Clearly there are things that Hamas sent back that are absolute non-starters. But, at the same time, we see space to continue to pursue an agreement. And these things are always negotiations. It's not flipping a light switch. It's not 'yes' or 'no.' There's invariably back and forth." Blinken also took time to address the toll on civilians due to the conflict "On all of my previous visits here and pretty much every day in between, we have pressed Israel in concrete ways to strengthen civilian protection, to get more assistance to those who need it. And over the past four months, Israel has taken important steps to do just that. And yet ... the daily toll that its military operations continue to take on innocent civilians remains too high."
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu has also dismissed concerns from the United States about the expansion of its operations in the Southern Region of Gaza.
The Prime Minister has also called for the dismantling of the UNRWA, a UN agency focused on aiding Palestinian refugees, because of suspicions that several of the agency's employees played a role in the Oct.7th attack that ignited the conflict. However, no evidence has been presented at the time of writing. Despite this, the UN is investigating the matter, and the United States as well as other nations have suspended funding to the agency until further notice.
The Prime Minister is also opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state and has gone on record stating that Israel will maintain open-ended security control over the region.
The report concludes with Blinken acknowledging that Israel is still recovering from the incident in October but has also stated that Israel's response shouldn't be fueled by vengeance. Blinken's quote is as follows, "Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7. And the hostages have been dehumanized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others." It remains unclear where these negotiations will result in a progressive outcome. However, optimism is a good place to start even if not all parties are on the same page.
