In Israel, Blinken says peace with neighbors hinges on path to Palestinian state

Secretary of state says US backs Israel in ensuring October 7 can’t be repeated, but death toll in Gaza ‘far too high’; announces UN plan to assess conditions in northern Strip

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 9, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 9, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AFP)

Israel will not achieve full integration into the region without supporting a path to a Palestinian state, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued late Tuesday during a press conference in Tel Aviv.

All of America’s regional allies that he met on his week-long trip to the Middle East, said Blinken, told him that peace with Israel was attainable and that they “are ready to support a lasting solution that ends the long-running cycle of violence and ensures Israel’s security.” But according to Blinken, they stressed peace could only come through an integrated, “regional approach that includes the pathway to a Palestinian state.”

“These goals are attainable, but only if they are pursued together,” he said. “This crisis has clarified that you can’t have one without the other, and you can’t achieve either goal without an integrated, regional approach.”

“To make this possible,” the American diplomat continued, “Israel must be a partner to Palestinian leaders who are willing to lead their people in living side by side in peace with Israel and as neighbors. And Israel,” he said, “must stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively.”

At the same time, Blinken underscored that peace with Israel’s neighbors was a distinct possibility. After visiting Saudi Arabia and Qatar, alongside Arab states that do recognize Israel, Blinken indicated that he heard “a commitment to take the steps necessary” in order “to give Israel confidence in its security.”

“And that’s something that’s new in recent years and very powerful: which is the willingness, the commitment, of many neighboring countries not only to live with Israel in peace but also genuinely to have a region that is more integrated, in which everyone can feel secure, including Israel.”

He said the Palestinian Authority also must “reform itself, to improve its governance” — and that he would raise these issues with PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesady.

“If Israel wants its Arab neighbors to make the tough decisions necessary to help ensure its lasting security, Israeli leaders will have to make hard decisions themselves,” said Blinken.

The friendship between our nations is “truly exceptional,” he said. And that friendship and commitment “demands that we’re as forthright as possible in moments when the stakes are highest, when the choices matter the most. This is one of those moments.”

Blinken made the remarks after a day of meetings with Israel’s top leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and President Isaac Herzog.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 9, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Blinken acknowledged that fighting Hamas, which hides among civilians and “fires from schools and hospitals,” makes it “incredibly challenging” for Israel.

“But the daily toll on Gazans, particularly on children, is far too high,” he said.

Blinken said that Israel has made “significant progress” in its military campaign, while noting that it is moving to a new “lower intensity” phase in the northern Gaza Strip and scaling down its forces there.

UN ‘assessment mission’

Israel has also made progress on getting aid into Gaza, said Blinken, but “90% of Gaza’s population continues to face acute food insecurity according to the United Nations.”

“More food, more water, more medicine and other essential goods” need to get into Gaza and reach those who need them, he added, while underscoring that Israel needs to do everything it can to allow for aid to move “safely and securely” throughout the Strip.

He hailed the UN’s “indispensable role” in addressing Gaza’s humanitarian needs. “There is simply no alternative,” he said.

A man prepares traditional unleavened bread on an open fire at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, where internally displaced Palestinians were taking shelter on November 14, 2023 during the Israel-Hamas war. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)

Blinken announced that the UN will carry out — with Israel’s cooperation — “an assessment mission” to determine what needs to be done to “allow displaced Palestinians to return safely to homes in the north.”

“Now, this is not going to happen overnight,” he said, citing “serious security, infrastructure and humanitarian” obstacles. But this UN assessment mission will start the process.

“Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,“ he added, stressing that they must “not be pressed to leave Gaza.”

Indeed, Blinken said he told Netanyahu that “the United States unequivocally rejects any proposal advocating for the settlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza,” and that the PM “reaffirmed to me today that this is not the policy of Israel’s government.”

Blinken added that while the US wants “this war to end as soon as possible… it’s vital that Israel achieve its very legitimate objectives of ensuring that October 7 can never happen again. We believe they’ve made considerable progress toward that goal.”

He placed blame for suffering in the war squarely on Hamas: “It’s very important to remember that everyone has choices to make, and that includes Hamas. Hamas could have ended this on October 8 by not hiding behind civilians, by putting down its weapons, by surrendering, by releasing the hostages. None of the suffering would have happened if Hamas hadn’t done what it did on October 7 and had it made different decisions thereafter.”

“And again this could end tomorrow if Hamas makes those decisions,” he said.

Palestinian governance

Asked about Israel withholding tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA, Blinken said “those are their revenues.” The PA “should have them.”

He said the PA needs the money to pay its people, some of whom do essential work in the West Bank. He cited the PA security forces, who he says are trying to keep peace, security and stability in the West Bank — and that’s “profoundly in Israel’s interests.”

In “the future governance of Gaza,” after the conflict, he added, “of course people need to be paid.”

Regarding the northern front and Hezbollah’s repeated attacks, Blinken said the US stands with Israel in ensuring its border is secure and is committed to finding a diplomatic solution that avoids escalation “and allows families to return to their homes — to live securely in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.”

Answering a question about the possible spread of the conflict, Blinken said that regional allies told him that “escalation is in no one’s interest.”

“No one wants to see more fronts opened in this conflict,” he added, saying that “countries in the region are using their influence to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“We strongly support the proposition that the Israelis need to know security so that they can return to their homes in northern Israel,” repeated Blinken.

“Equally, we believe and the government of Israel believes that the diplomatic path is the best way to achieve that security,” he continued.

“If our forces are threatened or attacked we will take appropriate steps, we will respond,” promised Blinken after being asked about attacks on American troops in the region.

No further civilian harm

In his meeting earlier in the day with Netanyahu, Blinken told him that Israel must stop causing additional harm to civilians in Gaza, the State Department said.

“The secretary reaffirmed our support for Israel’s right to prevent the terrorist attacks of October 7 from being repeated and stressed the importance of avoiding further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement after the meeting in Tel Aviv.

A soldier guards the entrance to an underground Hamas rocket fuel lab in central Gaza’s Bureij, January 8, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The secretary of state met with Israel’s full war cabinet after his long one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu.

Blinken and Netanyahu discussed “ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages and the importance of increasing the level of humanitarian assistance reaching civilians in Gaza,” according to Miller.

In a possible sign of discord during the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office did not release a readout, as it generally does.

In his meeting with Blinken, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel will intensify its operations in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis region until Hamas leaders are found and the Israeli hostages are freed.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (right) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Kirya military HQ in Tel Aviv, January 9, 2024. (Elad Malka/ Defense Ministry)

According to a readout of the meeting, Gallant briefed Blinken on the war developments and noted Israel’s “changes in combat tactics” in north Gaza, where the military has scaled back some of the fighting now that it has attained operational control of the area.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told the New York Times on Monday that the IDF had already begun a new, less intensive phase in the war against Hamas, with fewer ground troops and airstrikes.

A senior US official told CNN on Tuesday that Blinken expected to focus on Israel’s plan to shift to a third phase of fighting. The official added that Blinken and his team would push Israel’s war leadership for an “imminent” transition to the next phase, which would see a reduction in the intensity of fighting and a possible return of Gazans to their homes in the northern part of the Strip.

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