Current:Home > NewsBlinken seeks Palestinian governance reform as he tries to rally region behind postwar vision -Wealth Evolution Experts
Blinken seeks Palestinian governance reform as he tries to rally region behind postwar vision
View
Date:2025-04-13 19:27:58
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will seek governance reforms when he meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday as part of U.S. efforts to rally the region behind postwar plans for Gaza that also include concrete steps toward a Palestinian state.
Blinken says he has secured commitments from multiple countries in the region to assist with rebuilding and governing Gaza after Israel’s war against Hamas, and that wider Israeli-Arab normalization is still possible, but only if there is “a pathway to a Palestinian state.”
The approach faces serious obstacles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is adamantly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, and the autocratic, Western-backed Palestinian leadership lacks legitimacy in the view of many Palestinians.
The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight, fueling a humanitarian catastrophe in the tiny coastal enclave. The fighting has also stoked escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants that has raised fears of a wider conflict.
BLINKEN PRESSURES BOTH SIDES ON WHIRLWIND TRIP
On his fourth visit to the region since the war began three months ago, Blinken has met in recent days with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. He says they are open to contributing to postwar plans in return for progress on creating a Palestinian state.
After meeting with Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials on Tuesday, Blinken delivered a stark message, saying Israel must stop undercutting the Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves with its expansion of settlements, home demolitions and evictions in the West Bank.
But he also said the Palestinian Authority “has a responsibility to reform itself, to improve its governance,” and that he would discuss that with the 88-year-old Abbas, who has not stood for elections since 2005 and lacks support among his own people.
The Palestinian Authority governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank under interim peace deals reached in the 1990s and cooperates with Israel on security matters. But it has been powerless to prevent the expansion of settlements on land it wants for a future state, and there have been no serious or substantive peace talks since Netanyahu returned to office in 2009.
Later Wednesday, Abbas was set to met with the leaders of Jordan and Egypt, two U.S. allies who have long served as mediators in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in Jordan’s Red Sea city of Aqaba.
WAR RAGES ON WITH NO END IN SIGHT
Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it crushes Hamas and returns scores of hostages held by the group after its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Israeli officials say the campaign will continue through the rest of the year, and its own postwar plans call for open-ended military control over the territory, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005.
Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes by the fighting, and a quarter of its residents face starvation, with only a trickle of food, water, medicine and other supplies entering through an Israeli siege.
Blinken said more food, water, medicine and other aid needs to enter and be distributed effectively, and he called on Israel to “do everything it can to remove any obstacles.”
The offensive has reduced much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, to a moonscape, raising concerns over whether the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled from those areas will ever be able to return. Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government have called for them to be resettled elsewhere, which critics say would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Blinken said the U.S. was opposed to any such scenario and that resettlement is not the policy of the Israeli government. He also said he had secured agreement on a U.N. inspection mechanism in northern Gaza to evaluate how and when people can return.
HEAVY FIGHTING IN CENTER AND SOUTH
The military is now focusing major operations on the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza that date back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent days in continuing strikes across the territory, including in areas of the far south where people have been told to seek refuge.
An airstrike late Tuesday hit a four-story house west of the southernmost city of Rafah, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 20 others, including women and children, health officials said. Associated Press reporters saw the dead and wounded being brought into nearby hospitals.
Jaber Abu Hamed, who fled his home in Gaza City last month and is sheltering near the main hospital in Khan Younis, said he heard constant gunfire and explosions. “The ambulance sirens didn’t stop,” he said.
Since the war began, Israel’s offensive has killed more than 23,200 Palestinians, roughly 1% of the territory’s population, and more than 58,000 people have been wounded, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. About two-thirds of the dead are women and children, health officials say. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
In the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas overwhelmed Israel’s defenses and stormed through several communities, Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians. They abducted around 250 others, nearly half of whom were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames the high toll on Hamas because the militants fight in densely populated areas. It says it has killed some 8,000 militants — without providing evidence — and that 186 of its own soldiers have been killed in the offensive.
___
Jobain reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip and Magdy from Cairo.
___
Find more of AP’s coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
veryGood! (53)
Related
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Is this the era of narcissism? Watch out for these red flags while dating.
- Francisco Lindor’s grand slam sends Mets into NLCS with 4-1 win over Phillies in Game 4 of NLDS
- Shop Flannel Deals Under $35 and Save Up to 58% Before Prime Day Ends!
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- NTSB report says student pilot, instructor and 2 passengers killed in Sept. 8 plane crash in Vermont
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 16 players to start or sit in Week 6
- Whether to publicly say Trump’s name becomes issue in Connecticut congressional debate
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- This Historic Ship Runs on Coal. Can It Find a New Way Forward?
Ranking
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Whether to publicly say Trump’s name becomes issue in Connecticut congressional debate
- Off-duty Atlanta police officer shot, killed while reportedly trying to break into house
- McDonald's Chicken Big Mac debuts this week: Here's what's on it and when you can get one
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Get a $19 Prime Day Deal on a Skillet Shoppers Insist Rivals $250 Le Creuset Cookware
- Prince William Shares Royally Relatable Parenting Confession About His and Kate Middleton's Kids
- Northern Lights to Be Visible Across Parts of U.S.: Where to See “Very Rare” Aurora Borealis Show
Recommendation
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Mountain Dew VooDew 2024: What is the soft drink's Halloween mystery flavor?
Soccer Star George Baldock Found Dead in Swimming Pool at 31
This Under Eye Mask Is Like an Energy Drink for Your Skin and It’s 46% Off on Prime Day
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
A Shopper Says This Liquid Lipstick Lasted Through a Root Canal: Get 6 for $8.49 on Amazon Prime Day
JoJo Siwa Seemingly Plays Into Beyoncé & Sean Diddy Combs Conspiracy Theory With Award Show Shoutout
Shop Flannel Deals Under $35 and Save Up to 58% Before Prime Day Ends!