Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 20, 2021
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 20, 2021
Blinken ‘prepared to travel to Israel’ and Mideast
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he would be prepared to travel to the Middle East, as he headed home from an Arctic tour overshadowed by Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
“I am prepared at any time to go to Israel, to the Middle East, if that would serve the purpose of moving beyond the violence and helping to work on improving lives for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Blinken says at a press conference in Greenland.
His comments come as Israel and Palestinian terror groups agree to a ceasefire.
Blinken says that he had pushed for a “de-escalation on the path to a ceasefire” in a phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
