This file photo taken on April 7, 2022 shows US Secretary of State Blinken attending the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
In addition to Egypt, he also traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar and the Palestinian West Bank. The U.S. State Department said Blinken's visit was intended to mediate efforts to achieve humanitarian ceasefires in the Gaza Strip, among other goals.
At a time when the ceasefire agreement in Gaza has been delayed and the US military is carrying out air strikes in many places in the Middle East, is Blinken's visit to the Middle East just to mediate a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel? The United States has been accused of "steering aside". Will Middle Eastern countries buy its fault? Xinhua News Agency reporter will help you solve the problem - why does
go back again and again?
The new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has lasted for nearly four months. US media reported that Blinken's fifth visit was intended to promote a ceasefire agreement. Qatar and Egypt, on behalf of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), proposed this plan during ceasefire negotiations with Israel and the United States in Paris on January 28.
Blinken will basically visit all the participants in this ceasefire agreement plan. The British "Independent" commented on the 5th that the conflict in the Middle East is currently intensifying. The United States is facing increasing domestic and international demands for an end to the war and needs to quickly promote the signing of a ceasefire agreement.
On February 5, in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, people looked at the ruins of buildings after an Israeli air strike. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Khalid Omar)
On the other hand, the United States’ support for Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip continues to arouse strong dissatisfaction among many countries and related forces in the region. The U.S. military bases in the Middle East have been repeatedly attacked. They also launched armed retaliation. Some analysts believe that maintaining the security of the US military in the region is also an important consideration for Blinken's frequent visits to the Middle East.
The people of Gaza are currently in a humanitarian crisis. Richard Pieperkorn, the World Health Organization's representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said at a regular press conference at the United Nations that more than 100,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed, injured or missing in this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israeli Defense Minister Galante said on the 5th that the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip will continue for several months.
Associated Press analysis said that Blinken hopes to promote a possible ceasefire agreement and post-war planning while easing regional tensions. But on all three fronts, he faces major challenges: Hamas and Israel are openly divided over key issues of the truce; Israeli leaders reject a two-state solution and deny the Palestinians the right to statehood; Iran is in the region allies show little sign of being intimidated by U.S. military action.
Many visits failed to achieve the goal, and Blinken had to make one trip to the Middle East.
Big vote
Some analysts pointed out that as the U.S. election year approaches, the Biden administration’s mediation of the ceasefire is largely due to domestic political considerations and to prevent Biden from losing his re-election bid due to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Gaza conflict. vote. Blinken has previously traveled to the Middle East four times under the banner of "fighting fires", but all failed. His fifth visit is ostensibly to appease the rising domestic and international demands for an end to the war. In fact, it is for the Biden administration to search for bargaining chips in this year's presidential election to prevent the Palestinian-Israeli war from inflaming the situation and reduce the impact of the situation in the Middle East on Biden's election. adverse effects.
On January 9, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (right) met with US Secretary of State Blinken in Tel Aviv. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the Israeli Government Information Office)
Analysts believe that Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East is still essentially a “diplomatic show.” The United States has mediated a ceasefire, aiming to appease its allies and ease anti-American sentiment in Arab countries. Jordan's "Tomorrow" said that if the United States does not change its position of blindly favoring and condoning Israel, then no matter how many times Blinken goes to the Middle East, it will be in vain. Another analysis by
pointed out that in order to escape from the complex situation in the Middle East, the US military has reduced the scale of US troops stationed in Iraq in recent years.Especially in an election year, the ruling party is most afraid of being trapped in the vortex of war and conflict. The rising number of US casualties may have an adverse impact on the election.
But the new round of conflicts between Palestine and Israel disrupted the calculations of the United States. An article published on the website of the American bimonthly magazine "The National Interest" on the 2nd pointed out that Israel's attack on Gaza and the United States' firm support for Israel are the core of conflicts in the Middle East. The Biden administration has increased the U.S. military presence in the Middle East since the conflict broke out on October 7 last year. The U.S. presence and policies in the Middle East have neither deterred violence nor achieved regional stability. Instead, they fanned the flames and raised the risk of significant escalation. (Reporters: Cheng Shuapeng, Jize, Deng Xianlai, Li Jun, Duan Minfu, Yao Bing, Wang Hao, Lu Yingxu, Zeng Yan, Liu Jiang; Editors: Cheng Dayu, Wang Fengfeng, Wang Shen, Shen Haoyang)
