Blinken Calls for ‘Practical Pathway’ to a Palestinian State

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s latest Middle East mission, foreign nationals arrested in Russia and Azerbaijan, and France’s new prime minister.

Seeking Long-Term Stability

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the nation’s war cabinet, in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. This is his fourth diplomatic trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7.

Blinken pushed Israel to establish a “practical pathway” for the creation of a Palestinian state, which he argued would help convince Israel’s Arab neighbors to normalize ties. On Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Blinken that diplomatic recognition of Israel is still possible—but only if Netanyahu ends the war in the Gaza Strip and works toward securing a Palestinian state.

Arab nations are willing “to help Gaza stabilize and recover; to chart a political path forward for the Palestinians; and to work toward long-term peace, security, and stability in the region as a whole,” Blinken said. But the longer that Israel continues bombarding Gaza, the worse that public opinion of Israel grows, hampering Arab government efforts to secure closer ties with Israel. More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the past three months, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Washington’s chief diplomat also urged Netanyahu to limit civilian casualties, avoid all-out war with Hezbollah, and focus on long-term stability in the region. Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proposed that future governance of Gaza be run by local Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas instead of the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the West Bank. Many Western actors, including the United States, have pushed Netanyahu to accept a future in which a “revamped and revitalized” Palestinian Authority controls Gaza.

On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he is “quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza.” Israel began troop drawdowns this month, and the military reduced its scale of operations in northern Gaza on Monday following an Israeli announcement over the weekend that it had successfully dismantled Hamas infrastructure there. This new phase is expected to see less intense fighting in central and southern Gaza.

In the meantime, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold its first hearing on Thursday in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. Cape Town filed the lawsuit in December 2023, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, and Bolivia have all supported it. The United States and United Kingdom oppose the case, with U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby calling it “meritless, counterproductive, and completely without any basis.”

There is “nothing more atrocious and preposterous” than this accusation, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, reminding the ICJ that Hamas continues to threaten the total destruction of the Israeli state. Meanwhile, far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for the “voluntary displacement” of civilians from Gaza, a proposal that activists accuse of being a “mass displacement” that would violate human rights standards.

Today’s Most Read

• Ukraine Has a Pathway to Victory by Rose Gottemoeller and Michael Ryan
• The Greatest Book on Nationalism Keeps Being Misread by David Polansky
• 5 Reasons the Israel-Palestine Conflict Won’t End Any Time Soon by Stephen M. Walt

What We’re Following

Locked up. Dual Russian-U.S. citizen Robert Romanov Woodland was arrested in Moscow on Friday for his alleged involvement in a large-scale drug operation, Russian officials announced on Tuesday. He is accused of “illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture, [and] processing of narcotic drugs” and will remain in custody until March 5. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years.

Another high-profile arrest shocked locals in Azerbaijan on Tuesday when France accused Baku of arbitrarily detaining French national Martin Ryan. Ryan was arrested on Dec. 4 for espionage charges and was sentenced to a four-month detention. Paris has demanded his immediate release. The news worsens already fragile relations between Azerbaijan and France after Baku accused Paris of selling weapons to its rival, Armenia, and both nations expelled the other’s diplomats last month over allegations of poor conduct that is “not compatible” with their diplomatic status.

A new PM. French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Education Minister Gabriel Attal to be the nation’s next prime minister on Tuesday after former leader Élisabeth Borne unexpectedly resigned on Monday. At age 34, Attal is France’s youngest prime minister in history. “I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to implement the project of revitalization and regeneration that I announced,” Macron wrote to Attal on X, formerly Twitter.

Attal has promised to address rising cost of living and public discontent at a time when far-right leader Marine Le Pen is gaining popularity. He is the first openly gay prime minister in Paris’s history and has been one of the highest-polling politicians in France over the past few months. Macron is likely hoping that Attal’s popularity will help stem growing disunity within his own centrist government.

Rejoining the race. Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifted a lifetime ban on Monday that bars politicians with convictions from running for office. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif celebrated the ruling, as it allows him to run in next month’s election. Sharif was found guilty of corruption in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison due to revelations uncovered in the Panama Papers, leaked documents that detail illegal offshore accounts.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is exempt from the ruling because the country’s electoral commission banned him from politics for five years—despite his many efforts to campaign from behind bars. Khan was removed from power via a no-confidence vote and found guilty of corruption, inflammatory rhetoric, and inciting riots in 2022.

Odds and Ends

For a little extra flavor, one Greenland start-up is adding ancient glacial ice to cocktails in Dubai. This year, the United Arab Emirates is selling bars ice straight from the Arctic fjords. Although co-founder Malik Rasmussen said the start-up’s methods are environmentally friendly, some climate activists argued that resources should be more focused on combatting global warming instead of selling already dwindling ice. Maybe order your next drink neat instead of on the rocks.