Blinken offers blueprint for post-war Gaza in final speech
The outgoing chief US diplomat laid out his vision for Gaza’s future as negotiators appeared on the brink of a cease-fire.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an eleventh hour pitch for governance and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the Biden administration prepares to leave office unsure of whether a cease-fire will be reached first.
“Our imperative is not to turn back the clock to the way things were before Oct. 7. It’s to forge a new reality for the Middle East,” Blinken told the Atlantic Council.
Pro-Palestinian protesters repeatedly interrupted the secretary, shouting “Bloody Blinken” and accusing him of facilitating genocide in Gaza as he delivered his final speech before the Trump administration returns to power.
Israel and Hamas are on the verge of an agreement after months of fruitless negotiations to free the hostages and halt the fighting that local authorities say has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children.
