WASHINGTON (UNITED STATES) (ITAPRESS) – On his last day as secretary of state before his nomination hearing in the Senate tomorrow, Jan. 15, Antony Blinken took stock of the war in the Middle East at a time when Qatari negotiators say a cease-fire agreement should be “closer than ever.”
“From the outset, the Biden administration’s primary goal in the Middle East was not to repeat the mistake it made a year ago in trying to transform its governments or societies, but rather to strengthen relations among U.S. partners in the region,” Blinken said. “We led new coalitions bringing together India, Israel, the UAE and the United States to address shared challenges, and we announced the groundbreaking economic corridor linking India and southern Europe and worked with the UN to broker a ceasefire in Yemen. In addition, we strengthened the robust U.S. sanctions regime against Iran, upholding President Biden’s commitment.”
During his speech, Blinken was also interrupted three times by some Palestinian protesters attending the conference, who accused the outgoing Secretary of State of facilitating genocide: “You will forever be remembered as Bloody Blinken,” the first protester shouted before being taken away by security. The other two protesters instead called Blinken a “brutal war criminal.”
After security intervened, Blinken continued his speech by talking about the progress made toward a cease-fire agreement and reconstructing what happened at the beginning of the Middle East conflict: “On October 7, Hamas attacked Israel, unleashing the bloodiest days for Jews since the Holocaust,” Blinken continued. “Hamas killed more than 1,200 men, women and children, torturing and sexually assaulting many victims. Most of those involved were civilians and included citizens of more than 30 countries, of these 46 were Americans and 7 of them are still being held hostage today.”
Finally, Blinken reiterated the importance of continued future U.S. efforts to ensure that certain events can never happen again: “In the wake of the attack, President Biden has made clear the continued U.S. commitment to helping Israel avoid another Oct. 7, reiterating his determination to avert a broader regional conflict with all the death and destruction that would bring. It took immediate steps to avert further aggression and prevent the conflict from spreading, deploying two of our largest carrier battle groups, warships, a submarine with troop-guided missiles, and made relentless efforts to secure the release of hostages.”
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(ITALPRESS).
Blinken “Helping Israel avoid another October 7”
