Blinken's next steps in the Middle East
After his meetings in Riyadh with the Saudi crown prince and foreign minister, the US secretary of state will visit Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank later this week.
In Egypt and Qatar, he is expected to push to advance the Egyptian and Qatari-mediated dialogue with Hamas to achieve a hostage deal and a pause to the Gaza conflict.
A truce has already been discussed in detail by US, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials.
Blinken's current visit to the region follows criticism of the US from Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said Israel's ally had not been giving enough support. This came after the Biden administration imposed sanctions on four settlers, amid rising violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
BBC NEWS
