Shining in Israel due to flare-up of conflict with Palestinians

The top Washington diplomat arrived in Israel on the second leg of his Middle East tour, after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the country’s foreign minister in Cairo.

Israel is reeling from an attack Friday that killed seven civilians outside a synagogue in annexed East Jerusalem, a day after the deadliest army attack in years on the occupied West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives.

“We have seen horrific terrorist attacks in recent days that we condemn and regret,” Blinken previously told Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya.

At a press conference in Cairo on Monday, Blinken urged “all sides to calm things down and de-escalate tensions,” while also stressing the “importance of working towards a two-state solution.”

In the latest bloodshed, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian driver in the West Bank on Monday, officials on both sides said, while the army said the car struck a soldier’s leg before driving away.

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinian adults and children, including attackers, militants and civilians.

During the same period, six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian civilian were killed. All were shot dead Friday in the attack outside the synagogue in a settlement in East Jerusalem.

– ‘Dangerous developments’ –

The United States has historically taken the lead in diplomacy in the Middle East, and Egypt, which has relations with Israel, has long served as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Blinken was scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a veteran leader who returned to power late last year at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

The US envoy will also travel to Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.

Abbas met with CIA chief William Burns in Ramallah late Sunday to discuss the “dangerous developments,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said. The US embassy declined to comment to AFP.

Blinken had long planned the visit, but the trip takes on a new urgency amid the escalating violence.

The deadly shooting in East Jerusalem was preceded by the Israeli army’s deadliest operation in the West Bank in years.

Ten people were killed in a raid in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp on Thursday that Israel said targeted Islamic Jihad operatives.

The army later struck sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu’s cabinet has promised a tough response and has taken steps to punish “the families of terrorists who support terrorism” with house demolitions and other measures.

The government also plans to withdraw social security entitlements from family members of attackers, and take steps to make it easier for Israeli citizens to obtain permits to carry firearms.

– ‘Death Spiral’ –

The latest bloodshed has heightened international concern, with Pope Francis lamenting the “death spiral” on Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged all sides not to feed a “spiral of violence” and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for “maximum responsibility” on all sides.

Blinken met with Sisi and then-Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday.

Blinken praised Sisi for “Egypt’s important role in promoting stability in the region” and “discussed ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” according to the State Department.

Egypt’s diplomats and intelligence agencies — a major recipient of US military aid — are regularly called upon to intervene between Israelis and Palestinians.

Blinken’s visit to Israel is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to quickly engage with Netanyahu, who had strained relations with the previous Democratic administration under Barack Obama.

While there, Blinken was expected to reiterate American support for a Palestinian state, a prospect few expect under the new Israeli administration.

The State Department said Blinken would call for the status quo to be preserved at the focal point of East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked global condemnation when he visited the site, which is run by Jordan, earlier this month.

The compound is the holiest site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount, and the third most sacred site in Islam.