Blinken tries to calm Israeli-Palestinian conflict
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Monday for "urgent steps" to calm spiralling violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after high-level talks in Jerusalem. Washington's top diplomat travelled to Jerusalem on the second leg of his Middle East tour, after meeting Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and foreign minister in Cairo. Israel is reeling from an attack Friday that killed seven civilians outside a synagogue in annexed east Jerusalem, a day after the deadliest army raid in years in the occupied West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives. Following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken urged "all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to deescalate". "We want to make sure that there's an environment in which we can, I hope, at some point, create the conditions where we can start to restore a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," he said. In the latest bloodshed, Israeli troops Monday killed a Palestinian driver in the West Bank, officials on both sides said, with the army saying the car had hit a soldier's leg before speeding off. Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinian adults and children – including attackers, militants and civilians. Over the same period six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed. All were shot dead in the attack Friday outside the synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement. The United States has historically taken a lead on Middle East diplomacy, and Egypt, which has relations with Israel, has long served as a mediator in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Following what Blinken described as "very candid" discussion with Netanyahu, the top US diplomat is due to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Blinken will also travel to Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. (AFP)