Blinken's Mideast trip dubbed futile exercise
Move seen as trying to save Israel from negative fallout, salvage Biden's image
The latest visit of United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East region, which has made little or no difference to the ongoing Palestinian crisis, can be seen as a bid by Washington to help Israel save itself from the negative fallout of its military offensive in Gaza, and also to stem the damage to the Joe Biden administration during an election year, say analysts.
They said the trip signals a "realization" in Washington that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign "has been a failure "and that the US now has "to provide solutions for the Israeli administration", as it is "heavily invested in Israel's survival and protection".
Blinken was in the region from Jan 4 to 11 to meet with leaders in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bahrain and Egypt to discuss "urgent mechanisms" to stem violence, calm rhetoric, push for sustained delivery of lifesaving aid, and reduce regional tensions, according to the US Department of State.
The trip took place as bombings in Gaza, including fighting between Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, continued.
Blinken, in his meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, stressed "the importance of avoiding further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza", according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.
He also reaffirmed his country's support for Israel's right to prevent the attacks of Oct 7 from being repeated.
Muslim Imran, director at the Malaysia-based Asia Middle East Center for Research and Dialogue, or AMEC, a think tank, told China Daily that the US, in the eyes of the Palestinians, was "not a mediator or a spectator", but a "perpetrator of the ongoing genocide in Gaza "through its "full sponsorship of Israel's war activities", including the "replenishment of Israeli ammunition".
"Blinken has no moral high ground to come and preach peace. He has no credibility as a mediator either and therefore the (people) are not taking his visits or statements seriously," said Imran.
He said Washington realizes that Netanyahu's campaign "has been a failure" and that the US is providing solutions for the Israeli administration because the US sees itself heavily invested in Israel's survival and protection.
Mitigating impact
"However it's important to note that the American administration is not interested in a regional war. And therefore on the Lebanese front, I believe Blinken will pressure Israel and put some effort to avoid major escalation," Imran said.
That is because the US realizes that Israel has been unable to defeat Hamas in Gaza, so it would not be able to defeat Hezbollah and several other actors at the same time, the analyst noted.
"So, in a way, the (Biden) administration is playing the role of Israel's savior, trying to save it from itself," said Imran.
On Wednesday, a day before the opening of hearings at the International Court of Justice launched by South Africa on Israel's alleged genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Netanyahu said that Israel had no intention of maintaining the occupation of Gaza or displacing civilians.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Blinken on Wednesday that Gaza is integral to Palestinian statehood hopes and should not be cut off as a result of Israel's conflict with Hamas. Abbas further called for "convening an international peace conference to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine".
Ayman Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University at Jenin in the West Bank, told China Daily that Blinken "tried to convince the Israeli leaders that many Arab countries are ready to normalize with Israel and to work with it "through a regional framework and umbrella.
"But what I noticed is he tried to repeat the Israeli narrative and the Israeli vision in his diplomatic (outreach) … Overall, he came to the region to help Israel (and) to save Israel from itself and to work for future scenarios."
However, Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, believes that Blinken was trying to find a viable way to convince Netanyahu to stop the conflict, as US President Joe Biden "is losing internal and international support because of supporting the war against Gaza, in an election year".
"Netanyahu had a difficult relationship with Biden before the war, and to think that Biden could lose the elections and (former President Donald Trump) could win instead is not a bad scenario for Netanyahu, therefore he doesn't have any motivation to cooperate," she added.