Devendra Kumar
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been making the rounds in the Middle East, seeking to build support for planning a post-war future for Gaza in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Blinken met with wary Arab leaders in Jordan, including Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati, and later held joint talks with the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the chair of the PLO executive committee.
The talks came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu snubbed Blinken’s blunt warning that Israel risks losing any hope of an eventual peace deal with the Palestinians unless it eases the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Blinken’s meetings were a delicate balancing act, as he sought to address the anger and suspicion of Arab leaders while also pressuring Israel to ease its military operations and permit more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
Blinken’s first meeting was with Lebanon’s Mikati, whose country is home to Hizbullah, an Iranian-backed force that is hostile to Israel. The US has grave concerns that Hizbullah will take a more active role in the Israel-Hamas war, and Blinken thanked Mikati for his leadership in preventing Lebanon from being pulled into the conflict.
The US Secretary of State also met with Qatar’s foreign minister, whose country has emerged as a key player in mediating the conflict. Qatar has been instrumental in negotiating the release of hostages held by Hamas and persuading the group to allow foreign citizens to leave Gaza.
Blinken also met with the head of the UN agency in charge of assisting Palestinian refugees, thanking Phillipe Lazzarini for his organization’s “extraordinary work” in providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The agency has seen about 70 staffers killed in the war and is running critically low on necessary supplies such as food, medicine, and fuel.
In a joint statement, the Arab leaders expressed outrage at the civilian toll of the Israeli military operations and called for an immediate end to the conflict. The statement also called for the delivery of more humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza and for a ceasefire to be established.
However, Arab states have so far resisted American suggestions that they play a larger role in the crisis, believing Gaza to be a problem largely of Israel’s own making. Egypt has proposed humanitarian pauses in the fighting to permit aid deliveries, but US officials acknowledge that ideas on Gaza’s future governance are few and far between.
The US has offered a vague outline of what a post-war future for Gaza might look like, including a combination of a revitalized Palestinian Authority, international organizations, and potentially a peacekeeping force. However, these ideas have been met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, and it remains to be seen whether the Arab leaders will ultimately support such a plan.