Clinton in Middle East for Talks on Ending Gaza-Israel Violence
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton upon her arrival to their meeting in Jerusalem, Nov. 20, 2012.
STATE DEPARTMENT —
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East for talks aimed at ending the violence between Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza. Clinton met late Tuesday in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and is expected to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Wednesday morning before flying to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says it is part of intensive diplomatic efforts to end a week of rocket fire and air strikes between Israel and Hamas positions in Gaza.
Israel, West Bank, Gaza map
"The goal of all of this diplomacy is to relieve the suffering of civilians, whether they are Israelis or whether they are Palestinians," she said.
President Barack Obama is sending Clinton to the region to pursue what U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes called "everybody's best interests."
Israel put a planned ground operation in Gaza "on hold" amid diplomatic efforts to end the cross-border aerial strikes.
As for a broader resolution of the outstanding differences between Israelis and Palestinians, Nuland said Clinton's first goal is to stop the fighting.
"We have to obviously start with a deescalation of this conflict. We have to see an end to the rocket fire on Israel," she said. "We have to see a restoration of calm in Gaza. And the hope is that if we can get through those stages, that will create space for the addressing of broader issues. But I don't want to prejudge. This is obviously ongoing and live diplomacy."
Attacks Rock Israel and the Gaza Strip
1/14Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, November 21, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
2/14A Palestinian man reacts as flames and smoke rise from a smuggling tunnel after an Israeli strike along the border between Egypt and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, November 21, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
3/14Israelis look at a blown up bus at the site of a bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 21, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
4/14Israeli rescue workers and paramedics carry a wounded person from the site of a bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 21, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
5/14Palestinian children stand in rubble after an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City, November 20, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
6/14An Israeli soldier stands on a tank at a staging area near the Israel-Gaza Strip Border, November 20, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
7/14A Palestinian inspects the damage to a soccer stadium after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, November 19, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
8/14Smoke and fire rise up from an explosion in Gaza City, November 19, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
9/14A Palestinian man waves the national flag during a protest against Israel's operations in Gaza Strip, outside Ofer, an Israeli military prison near the city of Ramallah, November 18, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
10/14An Israeli police officer gestures in front of a burning car after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza landed in the southern city of Ashkelon, November 18, 2012. (Reuters)
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
11/14Members of the Palestinian Civil Defense help a survivor after he was pulled out from under the rubble of his destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, November 18, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
12/14An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket in the southern city of Ashdod, Israel, November 16, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
13/14A Palestinian man kisses the body of one of his children during their funeral in the northern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
14/14An Israeli soldier runs with his weapon during a drill simulating a possible ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, at a base south of the West Bank city of Hebron, November 17, 2012.
Diplomacy intensifies to end violence that has killed more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.
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Nuland said all parties want to see an opening for a durable end to the conflict.
"This goes to the underlying security of Israel and that the end of attacks from Gaza into Israel should be halted not simply temporarily, but in a sustained way. It goes to the condition of civilians in Gaza," said Nuland. "And it goes to the ability of Israelis and Palestinians to get back to the [negotiating] table about a lasting settlement."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called Israel a terrorist state because of its attacks in Gaza. Nuland said the United States has made clear to the government in Ankara that "some of the extremely harsh rhetoric coming from Turkey" is not helpful.
