By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- In a press statement on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about his tenth stop in a week in the Middle East. Blinken’s feedback about his trip was positive as he explained that during this trip Middle East leaders were much more focused and willing to discuss what happens when the war in Gaza ends compared to his previous trip when there was a reluctance to broach the topic. The secretary of state said the main goals include preventing the conflict from spreading, getting more humanitarian aid to people who need it, increasing protection for civilians, freeing the hostages and continuing to support Israel in its efforts to “make sure that October 7th can never happen again, and so that this conflict can end.” He said conversations focused on the day after the conflict ends along with “doing the work necessary to prepare for that, as well as for long-term, enduring security.”
He said that leaders in the Middle East are “clearly prepared to take steps, to do things, to make commitments necessary both for Gaza’s future and for long-term peace and security in the region.” Blinken added that the result of his trip is that “We come away with a number of concrete steps forward.” The first of those steps is an agreement by Israel to have the U.N. send an assessment team to the north of Gaz to review conditions that are necessary to start getting people moving back to the north. Second, is a commitment from the Palestinian Authority to pursue meaningful reform. Third, Blinken said that the Security Council at the U.N. on the ongoing Houthi aggression now has a strong Security Council resolution that insists that the attacks on ships and kidnappings, violence end. There is also an agreement between countries in the region, among “our Arab partners, to work together and to coordinate our efforts for the way forward, both for Gaza itself as well as for longer-term peace and stability in the region.”
