Blinken meets Palestinian leaders in bid to restore calm
The Hindu
After a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Mr. Blinken urged both sides to take "urgent steps" to calm tensions
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to meet Palestinian leaders on Tuesday for his final stop on a Middle East tour aimed at curbing the worst outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in years.
After a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Mr. Blinken urged both sides to take "urgent steps" to calm tensions and said Washington would work to "restore a sense of security" craved by "Israelis and Palestinians alike".
Israel is reeling from an attack Friday that killed seven civilians outside a synagogue in annexed east Jerusalem, a day after the deadliest army raid in years in the occupied West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives.
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After landing in Israel on Monday, Mr. Blinken criticised Palestinians who celebrated the synagogue attack, saying: "We condemn all those who celebrate... acts of terrorism, that take innocent lives."
He also appeared to chastise Israelis blamed for dozens of incidents of reprisal violence following Friday's shooting in an east Jerusalem settler neighbourhood.
"Retaliatory acts of violence against civilians are never justified," he said.