Cairo, Oct 14 (EFE).- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saturday in Abu Dhabi with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohamed bin Zayed, as part of a tour of the Middle East to express the “unwavering” support of the United States to Israel.
During the meeting, Blinken and Bin Zayed agreed to “intensify diplomatic efforts” to “contain the situation and prevent it from worsening with the outbreak of more violence” about a possible amplification of the war between Israel and Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip, in particular the Islamist group Hamas, reported the official Emirati agency WAM.
The Emirati president also told Blinken that “the top priority is to ensure the full protection of civilians and preserve their lives” in the face of the continuous Israeli bombardment of Gaza and an imminent ground operation that would further exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in which the Palestinian enclave is mired.
In this regard, he recalled the importance of “opening humanitarian corridors” and facilitating access to humanitarian aid, to which the 2.2 million inhabitants of the Strip have no access due to the Israeli blockade of the border crossings.
Both also stressed the need to find a “clear political horizon that guarantees a just and comprehensive peace” in the Middle East region.
The US State Department said in a statement that “terrorist attacks against Israel” were discussed and that Blinken appreciated the Emirates’ “clear condemnation of Hamas’ heinous attacks against Israeli civilians.”
Blinken landed in Abu Dhabi as part of his region tour, which has taken him to Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. At the end of his visit to the Emirates, the US Secretary of State is scheduled to head to Egypt, one of the primary mediators in the conflict.
The UAE, a major regional partner of the US, has joined the Arab condemnation of Israel’s intense bombing campaign on Gaza and has sent humanitarian aid planes to its population, which is facing a critical situation due to electricity, water, food, and fuel shortages.
However, the Arab country has maintained a less aggressive tone than its neighbors.
The Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, sponsored by the administration of then-US President Donald Trump. EFE
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