US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the heads of diplomacy from Israel and four Arab countries are holding an unprecedented meeting on Israeli territory on Monday to discuss peace in the Middle East and Iran’s nuclear program.
In the aftermath of an IS attack
This summit in the locality of Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev desert (south) where the remains of the founder of Israel David Ben-Gurion rests, takes place the day after an attack claimed by the jihadist organization Islamic State (EI) which claimed the lives of two policemen in Hadera in northern Israel.
Interview with Naftali Bennett
At the start of his tour on Sunday, Antony Blinken spoke in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank. He then dined at Sde Boker with his counterparts from Israel, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, four Arab countries that have normalized their relations with the Jewish state.
A positive case for Covid-19
Early Monday, Bennett announced that he tested positive for Covid-19. “The Prime Minister is feeling well and he will continue his schedule as planned from his home,” according to his office. The State Department then said that Blinken had been the only member of the American delegation to have been in “close contact” with Bennett and that he would follow the recommendations by wearing “a mask and conducting the appropriate tests”.
Jihadist attack
Blinken’s visit to Israel was marked by an attack Sunday night in Hadera that left two Israeli policemen, 19-year-old Yazen Falah and Shirel Abukarat, dead and several injured.
The police killed the two assailants, Israeli Arabs and arrested 5 suspects. The attack was welcomed by the Palestinian movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad and by the Lebanese pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah. “A second attack by IS supporters in Israel is forcing security forces to adapt quickly to the new threat. I invite citizens to continue to be vigilant. Together, we can defeat this enemy as well,” Bennett said.