Blinken tells Jordan US administration committed to a Palestinian state

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state during a phone call yesterday with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, the State Department says.

Safadi has taken to attacking US policy regarding the Israel-Hamas war over the past two months, refusing to cooperate with Washington’s efforts to plan for who will temporarily govern Gaza after the war so long as the fighting continues.

However, the US has avoided hitting back at Jordan, ostensibly wary of the perennially fragile state of the regime in Amman.

During his call with Safadi, Blinken “underscored the US commitment to providing and facilitating increased and sustained humanitarian assistance into Gaza and expressed appreciation for Jordan’s leadership in providing aid.”

The pair also “discussed efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading and the need to do everything possible to protect civilians in Gaza and stop extremist settler violence in the West Bank.”

Strangely, the line in the readout about establishing a Palestinian state was not presented as a joint goal, though Jordan has long supported this end.

Blinken has held a series of calls with Arab counterparts in recent days, with largely identical readouts issued by his office.