‘Core objective’ of US in Middle East is to end ‘cycle of violence’: Antony Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the “core objective” of America in the Middle East is to end the “cycle of violence” that has existed in the region for decades. Israel has agreed to a plan to have Israeli American hostages released in exchange for a pause in hostilities and more aid deliveries to Gaza. “Our core objectives in the region, both in terms of the conflict in Gaza and broader efforts to build truly durable peace and security,” Mr Blinken said at a press conference on Monday (local time). “To that end, I had an opportunity to meet today with the prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar on the ongoing effort to get hostages out and to create an extended pause. “This is critical to them being able to get to the formula that we’ve been talking about for putting an end to the cycle of violence that we’ve seen in the region for generation after generation, and the opportunity that actually exists to achieve it. “A clear pathway to a Palestinian state – that vision and its realisation can dramatically change the security circumstance for Israel, for the Palestinians, for all our partners in the region, and, at the same time, isolate the small amount of actors who don’t want to get there.”