In Gaza, Palestinian indifference to Blinken's visit to Israel, West Bank
The armed factions in the Gaza Strip are not paying much attention to the visit of the US secretary of state to the region, and vowed continued retaliation against the Israeli military operations in the West Bank.
GAZA CITY — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not be going to Gaza on his visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah this week, and Gazans are showing a level of apathy as well as resentment at Washington's support for Israel in the conflict.
The visit, which comes on the heels of the worst escalation in over a year between Israelis and Palestinians, is seen by those inside the Hamas-controlled enclave as further proof of US support for Israel.
Rockets fired by Palestinian factions lit up the sky of the Gaza Strip on Friday, as armed factions retaliated against the Israeli raid in Jenin in the northern West Bank that killed nine Palestinians, including members of the militant group the Islamic Jihad, and two civilians the day before.
On Friday, a mass shooting killed seven Israelis outside a synagogue in Jerusalem, while another two Israelis were wounded in another shooting attack in the city on Saturday.
