INTERVIEW – Hard to be optimistic about change in US tone on Gaza: Palestinian-American analyst

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his fourth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 on Friday, a tour marked by a change in tone, according to a US-based Palestinian-American analyst.

Khalil Jahshan, executive director of Arab Center in Washington, welcomed this shift, which saw Blinken warn Israel that the civilian toll in Israel’s war in Gaza was "far too high," alongside usual US statements of continued support for Tel Aviv, one of the stops on his 10-country tour.

Blinken made these remarks in a news conference in Tel Aviv after a day of talks with Israeli officials, whom he urged to ensure a "clear pathway to the realization of Palestinian political rights and a Palestinian state."

Speaking to Anadolu, Jahshan had his reservations, but added that this was a change in language that "we haven't heard in a long time in this town."

"We haven't heard somebody talk about Palestinian state since maybe that 2022 visit by the President (Joe Biden) to Bethlehem in which he referred to it but then said that time is not conducive to that at this time," he told Anadolu.

"It's very hard for me to be optimistic, although I welcome that change in tone," he added.

Blinken's official visit to the region also included stops in Türkiye, Greece, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.

"I have a feeling this is probably the most important of all his trips," said Jahshan, pointing specifically to the risk of the war in Gaza spreading throughout the region.

"This campaign by Israel has taken too long from an American perspective. It has not achieved the intended result. It's beginning to harm US national interests, and therefore, they saw the need to embark on this diplomatic initiative," he explained.

Blinken's tour came at a time when the Israeli army has waged a devastating war on Gaza since Oct. 7 that has resulted in the killing of at least 23,084 Palestinians and wounding 58,926 others.

Israel launched its relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

"Particularly, the main purpose of the trip is to prevent this conflict in Gaza from going way beyond the Gaza borders and involve other parts of the region," said Jahshan.

He noted that there have been "unilateral requests" from the US, Israel's main supporter, and funder and arms supplier in its war in Gaza, adding that "no response" has come from the government of Israel on these requests.

"But at the same time, the US is seeing its own national interest in jeopardy. It's seeing its own relationship with the Arab and Muslim world in jeopardy," he continued.

"It reached such a crescendo this time that the administration is beginning to feel," he said, noting the upcoming presidential elections in the US, as well as Washington's ties with other countries in the region, and the threat of violence erupting in Lebanon.

"Whether the results will prove that remains to be seen, even after the rather forthcoming — unprecedented, I would say — press conference that we saw," he said, referring to Blinken's statements in Tel Aviv.