WASHINGTON — America's top diplomat heads out on a trip to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank on Saturday as a spiral of deadly violence grips the Middle East, with any plans to focus on democracy now overshadowed as the region braces for the no-holds-barred retaliation to Palestinian attacks that the new extremist Israel government has vowed.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will become the highest-level U.S. official to meet with Israel's new government, led by perennial Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and populated with far-right nationalists and Haredim.
After a month in office, the Netanyahu administration has announced numerous policies that many Israelis say will erode Israel's democracy and civil rights, and that have alarmed U.S. officials.
