1 ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Blinken arrives in Israel in push to stop war spreading
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, visited Israel this week for meetings with Israeli leaders and officials who have repeatedly proved resistant to pressure from Washington over their conduct of the war against Hamas.
Earlier, Blinken held talks with the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, on a Middle East tour aimed at reaching a consensus on Gaza’s future.
He said key Arab states and Turkey had agreed to begin planning for the reconstruction and governance of Gaza once Israel’s war against Hamas ended.
The secretary of state said Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey “agreed to work together and to coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilise and recover, to chart a political path forward for the Palestinians and to work toward long-term peace, security and stability in the region as a whole”.
On his fourth trip to the Middle East in three months, Blinken added that the Saudis and other Arab leaders were interested in pursuing normalisation of relations with Israel. “ The interest is there, it’s real, and it could be transformative,” Blinken said.
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2 UNITED STATES
Boeing 737 planes grounded after mid-air blowout
Regulators ordered the temporary grounding of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft following a cabin panel blowout that forced a new plane operated by Alaska Airlines into an emergency landing after taking off from Portland, Oregon, last Friday.
“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 planes before they can return to flight,” said Mike Whitaker, a Federal Aviation Administration administrator.
“We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected plane,” Boeing said in a statement.
United Airlines said on Monday that it had found loose bolts
