JERUSALEM — Arriving in Israel at what he called a “pivotal moment,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Monday called on Israelis and Palestinians alike to step back from the brink of all-out conflict, condemning terrorism and vengeance killings that target innocent civilians.
Blinken flew into the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv after a day in Cairo, and on Tuesday he will head to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian officials. At each stop, security has taken on an urgency after a spate of some of the deadliest violence in Israel and the West Bank in recent memory.
Blinken also held several hours of consultations in one-on-one meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who has been on the job just under a month as part of Netanyahu’s new far-right government.
