The alarming spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence and sharp responses by both sides are testing the Biden administration as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plunges into a cauldron of deepening mistrust and anger on visits to Israel and the West Bank this week.
Blinken landed in Egypt on Sunday at the start of a three-day visit to the Middle East as violence flares between Israelis and Palestinians, and with Iran and Ukraine high on the agenda.
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Blinken heads on Monday to Jerusalem, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government has stirred concern at home and abroad over the future of Israel's secular values, fraying relations with the Arab population, and deadlock in peace talks with the Palestinians. In talks with the new Israeli administration, which includes far-Right parties, Blinken will repeat US calls for calm and emphasize Washington's support for a two-state solution, although US officials admit peace talks are not likely soon. Blinken will also travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
US officials say the main theme of Blinken's conversations with Netanyahu and Abbas will be "de-escalation." Yet Blinken will arrive in Israel just a day after Netanyahu's Security Cabinet announced a series of punitive measures against Palestinians in response to a weekend of deadly shootings in which Palestinian attackers killed seven Israelis and wounded five others in Jerusalem. Those shootings followed a deadly Israeli raid in the West Bank on Thursday that killed 10 Palestinians, most of them terrorists.
Netanyahu's government has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary that would strengthen political control over the appointment of judges while weakening the Supreme Court's ability to overturn laws or strike down government action. The proposals have triggered big demonstrations against what protesters see as the undermining of judicial independence. Blinken will hear from people inside and outside of government on the reforms.
The violence has made January one of the bloodiest months in several years. While Blinken's trip has been planned for several weeks and will follow visits by President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director Willian Burns, it will be the highest-level US engagement with Netanyahu since he retook power last month and the first since the surge in violence.
"We want to get the parties to not cease security cooperation but to really enhance the security coordination," said Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East. "We are urging de-escalation and a calming of the situation."
Ahead of his meeting with Blinken, Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel's response is not intended to exacerbate tensions.
"We are not seeking an escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting. "Our answer to terrorism is a heavy hand and a strong, swift, and precise response."
Russia's 11-month-old war in Ukraine will also be on the agenda. Ukraine, which has received great quantities of military equipment from the United States and Europe, has pressed Israel in vain to provide systems to shoot down drones, including those supplied by Israel's regional adversary Iran.
Currently in Egypt, Blinken is under pressure to raise human rights concerns. The Biden administration has withheld some military aid to Egypt over its failure to meet human rights conditions, such as alleged abuses including torture and enforced disappearances. Most of the $1.3 billion in military aid that Washington sends to Egypt each year remains intact and the United States says President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government has made progress on reducing political detentions. El-Sissi, who became president in 2014, has said Egypt holds no political prisoners and argues that security is paramount and that the government is promoting human rights by working to provide basic needs such as jobs and housing.
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