From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Blinken lands in Cairo, kicking off trip that includes stops in Jerusalem, Ramallah
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Cairo, kicking off a Middle East trip that will also take him to Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Blinken’s trip follows two terror shootings in Jerusalem this weekend, including a deadly attack on Friday night in which seven people were killed.
It also comes amid surging violence in the West Bank, with 32 Palestinians killed in fighting this month. The IDF says the majority of them were killed while carrying out attacks during clashes with security forces. Some were uninvolved civilians.
In Egypt, Blinken was to speak with students at the American University in the city before holding talks with Egyptian officials, including President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, with the Jerusalem attacks and West Bank violence likely to figure in their talks.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Cairo #Egypt pic.twitter.com/Ru7D7AFX34
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) January 29, 2023
Tomorrow, he is scheduled to travel to Israel for the most critical leg of the visit, for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
