Sharp divides persisted between the United States and its Arab partners on their response to Israel’s war against Hamas after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Middle Eastern counterparts in Amman, Jordan on Saturday.
The top US diplomat attended a summit convened by the Jordanian Foreign Minister that was attended by the top diplomats from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
At the summit, the Arab leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza while Blinken reiterated US opposition, arguing that it would give Hamas time to regroup and launch another attack on Israel.
Standing alongside Blinken at a press conference after the summit, Jordan and Egypt’s foreign ministers again called for an immediate ceasefire and strongly condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
“The collective punishment – Israel targeting innocent civilians and facilities, medical facilities, paramedics, in addition to trying to force immigration for Palestinians to leave their lands – this cannot be a legitimate self-defense at all,” said Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Blinken again called for Israel to “take every possible measure” to prevent civilian casualties – a message he had relayed in meetings in Tel Aviv on Friday.
The secretary of state has consistently advocated for humanitarian pauses to facilitate getting fuel into the war-torn strip and getting civilians out. He pressed Israeli officials on instituting such pauses when meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet Friday, but hours later Netanyahu very publicly rejected the idea, saying he would not allow for a ceasefire or a pause until hostages held by Hamas are released.
Still, following his meetings in Amman, Blinken sought to…
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