President Barack Obama dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the West Asia yesterday as the US urgently seeks to end a conflict between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 100 in the last week.
Clinton hastily departed for the region from Cambodia, where she had joined Obama for a summit with Asian leaders.
The White House said she would make three stops, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Palestinian officials in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and Egyptian leaders in Cairo.
Clinton was expected to arrive in Israel tonight and return to Washington late tomorrow or very early Thursday after making all three stops.
Clinton’s trip marks the Obama administration’s most forceful engagement in the conflict that has killed more than 100 Palestinians and three Israelis, with hundreds more wounded.
While the U.S. has backed Israel’s right to defend it against rocket fire from Gaza, Washington has warned its ally against pursuing a ground assault that would further escalate the violence and could dramatically increase casualties on both sides.
Ahead of Clinton’s arrival, Obama spoke by telephone for almost a half-hour with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, commending the Islamist leader’s efforts to de-escalate tensions, said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser.
It was their third conversation in 24 hours.
Obama wants a diplomatic solution urgently because “there would be significant loss of life associated with further conflict,” Rhodes told journalists travelling with the president from Cambodia to Japan.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton’s diplomacy in the Middle East “will emphasize the United States’ interest in a peaceful outcome that protects and enhances Israel’s security and regional stability; that can lead to improved conditions for the civilian residents of Gaza; and that can reopen the path to fulfil the aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis for two states living in peace and security.”