عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

US Top Diplomat Blinken Speaks with Israeli and Palestinian Leaders

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media at a press conference in the State Department’s briefing room in Washington, DC, USA, 15 August 2023. (EPA)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media at a press conference in the State Department’s briefing room in Washington, DC, USA, 15 August 2023. (EPA)
TT
TT

US Top Diplomat Blinken Speaks with Israeli and Palestinian Leaders

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media at a press conference in the State Department’s briefing room in Washington, DC, USA, 15 August 2023. (EPA)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media at a press conference in the State Department’s briefing room in Washington, DC, USA, 15 August 2023. (EPA)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday spoke with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the State Department said.

Blinken spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about expanding Israel’s regional integration and countering threats posed by Iran, the department said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the State Department said Blinken expressed continued concern about ongoing violence in the West Bank when he spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

They also discussed their support for a two-state solution and opposition to actions endangering its viability, the department said.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
TT
TT

Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful.”

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said, according to Reuters.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."

The pope, 88, was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's 'state of the world' speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.
But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested
the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern."
Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.