Biden to Visit Israel on Wednesday, Blinken Announces Ari Blaff
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-to-visit-israel-on-wednesday-blinken-announces/
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday evening that President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“On Wednesday, President Biden will visit Israel. He’s coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region, and for the world,” Blinken said during an official address following a meeting with Netanyahu on Monday evening local time.
“He is coming here to do the following: First, the president will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security,” Blinken said. “President Biden will again make clear, as he’s done unequivocally since Hamas’s slaughter of more than 1,400 people — including at least 30 Americans — that Israel has the right, and indeed the duty, to defend its people from Hamas, and other terrorists, and to prevent other attacks.”
The secretary of state reiterated later in his speech the need to alleviate growing concerns about access to food, water, and energy in the Gaza Strip. “It is critical that aid starts flowing to Gaza as soon as possible,” Blinken said. However, “we share Israel’s concern that Hamas will take control of the aid that enters Gaza,” he added, asserting that the United States will seek to prevent the terrorist group from pilfering any supplies.
According to Blinken, the United States plans to help create “safe zones” within Gaza where civilians will be protected and humanitarian aid will flow unimpeded.
While visiting the region, President Biden is expected to stop in Amman, Jordan, to meet with regional political leaders, including Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian president Fattah el-Sisi, as well as King Abdullah II of Jordan.
News outlets have reported that the development appears to signal the postponement of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israel Defense Forces troops and reservists have been massing along the southern border since the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas.
Earlier in the day, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced her intention to visit Israel to underscore her commitment to the Jewish state. “Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to Israel for a solidarity mission where I plan to meet with diplomatic leaders and communities who have been devastated by the horrific Hamas attacks,” the Democratic governor said.
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