The visible and hidden dimensions of Blinken’s fifth trip to the Middle East

According to the report of the international group of Fars news agency, in the shadow of the continuation of military conflicts in the south of the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken started a new trip to the Middle East with the aim of achieving a ceasefire between the Zionist regime and the Palestinian resistance. Kurd, he is supposed to go to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and other lands in addition to the West Bank. This is his fifth trip to the region since the start of the Al-Aqsa storm operation on October 7.

This trip takes place while the United States announced last Friday that it bombed more than 80 positions of resistance groups in Iraq and Syria and also attacked Ansarullah positions in Yemen, including in Sana’a. , the capital.

Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper published a report on this matter and wrote: “Blinken’s purpose of this periodic trip is to continue negotiations to reach an agreement for the release of the remaining hostages with Hamas. and achieving a humanitarian ceasefire that would allow humanitarian aid to be sent to civilians in Gaza. Blinken is expected to follow up on the ceasefire proposal presented at the Paris meeting held last month with US, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials. The proposal based on a new ceasefire included a 6-week cessation of hostilities and the release of Israeli prisoners against Palestinian prisoners.

Blinken went to Riyadh in the framework of this trip yesterday and met with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman; A visit that lasted “more than two hours” and went to Cairo today.

A senior American official said that the key priority of Blinken’s trip is to “send a message directly to the countries of the region.” that the United States does not want to see an escalation of the conflict. Regarding the reason for the frequent visits of the US Secretary of State to the region, he stated that “it is important to show up and say [your positions] in person”.

Details of Egypt’s perspective on Gaza

Informed sources in Egypt about Egypt’s approach to Gaza told al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Egyptian authorities have The American minister in Cairo will announce the details of his country’s perspective regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip and ending this crisis, and will clearly explain his position regarding the military operations of the Israeli army in the Philadelphia axis and the borders of Egypt in the vicinity of the Sinai.

Meanwhile, the visit of the US Secretary of State raises questions about his ability to achieve progress in the process of reaching a new ceasefire between the two warring parties.

Abdul Rahman Shaft, one of the leaders of Hamas, in an interview with al-Arabi al-Jadid, clarified that the movement’s delayed response to the Paris proposal is “in the context of completing internal and national consultations in order to achieve the best formula.” which guarantees the realization of the rights of the Palestinian nation, especially after so much heroism, steadfastness and sacrifice. Round-ups and consultations regarding the steps and details of the framework and the preparation of the discussed topics need more time”.

It is unlikely that Tel Aviv will give in to Blinken’s pressure

Mukhtar al-Ghabashi, the deputy of the Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies, considered the probability of success of Blinken’s trip to achieve a ceasefire as unlikely and said “This may happen in the Arab world!” He explained: “There is a possibility that Blinken wants an immediate ruling on Israel to surrender to the demands of the international community.” The International Court of Justice and the request for weak help from many countries in the world to put pressure on the war in Gaza… but the fact is that Blinken’s trips have always led to the escalation of conflicts. His previous four trips prove that, minutes after Blinken’s departure from Tel Aviv, Israel started unprecedented conflicts, and this is the danger of Blinken’s visit.” He emphasized: ” The issue is not easy, what is necessary to prevent the situation from exploding is the realization of a ceasefire, as this will calm the scene in Lebanon, the situation in the Red Sea and the straits, and calm the groups with whom the United States has engaged in conflict in Iraq and Syria. ..the person who prevents the reaching of an agreement between the resistance and the Israelis is Benjamin Netanyahu. He politely says no to the French initiative and talks about leaving Khan Yunis and entering Rafah, which means escalating regional tensions by creating new tensions with Egypt. Netanyahu still insists on continuing the war, because he considers this to save himself and his government.” On the other hand, the writer and analyst of European and international issues, Hossam Shaker, says: “It is difficult to Let’s talk about the possibility of meeting the demands of Israel and the demands of the Palestinian resistance. We must note that the demands and standards of the resistance are fixed and clear, while the Israeli side “has internal differences and contradictions.” He added: “Netanyahu constantly opposes, in While the political and war camp and different factions in his government put forward contradictory positions about the priority of removing the prisoners from the Gaza Strip. It is difficult to talk about the ability of the Netanyahu government to take an agreed position in the political arena.” He explained that there are unacceptable issues in the proposed ceasefire plan from the point of view of the resistance, but the decision This so-called agreement is problematic from the Israeli side, as any decision may lead to further internal divisions. Especially since some factions present in the Israeli cabinet, such as Minister Bezalel Smotrich, may see it as a kind of concession and therefore may lead to a threat to the future of the current composition of the cabinet”.

On the other hand Amr Hashem Rabi, the deputy of the Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, also said that the reason for the shakyness of the ceasefire negotiations is due to the concerns of both sides. On the one hand, Israel is worried about the slogan it gave at the beginning of the war and has not been able to achieve it, and is in the situation of someone who has climbed to the top of a tree and cannot come down. On the other hand, he is worried about the international community and the reduction of support, the collapse of the cabinet and the opposition.

He added: But the Palestinian side is worried about the price of all these sacrifices and sacrifices and believes that there should be a price. should be paid in proportion to the amount of damage caused and harm Israel, he is also worried about the issue of his popularity, what will be the situation after the terrible famine and siege imposed by Israel, so Israel should pay a proportional price.

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