当了四年总统后唐纳德·特朗普美国政策倾向于以色列国务卿安东尼·布林肯似乎有意重启。

在他的第一次穿越在中东，美国新任高级外交官试图恢复美国作为以色列人和巴勒斯坦人之间的权力掮客和和平缔造者的历史角色，尽管他和总统乔·拜登一直在寻求将美国的注意力从中东转移开。

在以色列，西岸，埃及和约旦，布林肯试图在上周停火的基础上重建加沙普遍的破坏在以色列军队和哈马斯长达10天的冲突后，现在开始工作走向两国解决方案。

尽管特朗普和他的团队声称以色列政府和四个阿拉伯邻国政府之间的历史性协议“亚伯拉罕协议”功不可没，但他们大幅削减了美国与巴勒斯坦人的关系——关闭外交设施，停止美国的援助，并停止反对以色列定居点。

但这些协议和特朗普的中东和平计划都没有解决巴勒斯坦人民的需求分析家认为使巴勒斯坦人的处境更加糟糕，更加绝望。

法蒂玛·施拜尔/盖蒂图像公司

巴勒斯坦人返回加沙拜特哈嫩被摧毁的家园废墟，四天后

“当我们与巴勒斯坦人民脱节时，美国在避免、缓解和结束冲突方面发挥建设性作用的能力就会受到严重损害，”自由主义倡导团体J Street的主席杰里米·本-阿米(Jeremy Ben-Ami)说，他将此归咎于他所说的“特朗普总统对这种关系造成的严重损害”。

相比之下，布林肯(Blinken)周二宣布，拜登政府将重新开放其在耶路撒冷的总领事馆，以恢复这些外交关系，该领事馆长期以来一直是巴勒斯坦人民和领导层的联络点。特朗普于2019年3月关闭了事实上的大使馆，将其并入耶路撒冷的新美国大使馆，这位前总统承认耶路撒冷是以色列的首都。

更直接的是，布林肯强调了重建加沙的必要性，加沙是由激进组织哈马斯统治的巴勒斯坦领土，本月以色列的空袭造成了广泛的破坏。布林肯说，拜登政府将为加沙提供550万美元，以恢复自来水、卫生和电力等基本服务，并为在该领土和其他地方运作的联合国近东巴勒斯坦难民救济和工程处(近东救济工程处)提供3200万美元。

据美援署称，这笔资金包括用于家庭购买基本必需品的现金，以及为近几周因暴力而流离失所的约10万加沙人提供的医疗援助和心理支持。

亚历克斯·布兰登/泳池/法新社通过盖蒂图像

国务卿安东尼·布林肯在约旦首都举行新闻发布会后离开

据卡塔尔国家通讯社报道，布林肯星期三会见埃及总统塞西后还说，埃及将提供5亿美元的重建援助，卡塔尔政府也承诺提供5亿美元。

布林肯说，除了紧急援助之外，他的部门还将要求国会提供7500万美元，用于对西岸和加沙的长期经济和发展援助，使美国本财政年度的援助总额达到3.6亿美元。

但是，尽管哈马斯统治着加沙，布林肯认为，美国的资助不会让这个激进组织受益，还可能通过为普通加沙人提供机会来削弱其在那里的权力。

“我听到各方都认识到需要采取措施，需要解决助长最近这场冲突的潜在条件。停火为开始采取这些步骤创造了空间，”布林肯在周二晚上会见巴勒斯坦权力机构主席马哈茂德·阿巴斯后说。

他补充说，重建必须提供“新的信心、乐观和真正的机会”。...如果我们能够一起做到这一点，那么哈马斯在加沙的立足点将会滑动。"

阿巴斯在加沙几乎没有影响力，但在多年不受欢迎后仍然掌权，部分原因是巴勒斯坦人自2006年以来没有举行过选举，当时他的政党法塔赫在加沙输给了哈马斯。阿巴斯上个月推迟了原定于本月举行的选举，理由是以色列拒绝让选举在耶路撒冷进行。

穆罕默德·阿布蒂/法新社通过盖蒂图像

巴勒斯坦志愿者在加沙地带清扫最近被以色列袭击摧毁的建筑废墟

援助组织乐施会(Oxfam)驻加沙的政策和竞选官员莱拉·巴霍姆(Laila Barhoum)同意，美国需要发挥作用，包括促进巴勒斯坦选举，帮助确保加沙的重建“在巴勒斯坦人的主导下进行”。

“我们不能回到原点，因为没有什么可以回到的。她周三表示:“我们必须推进改革——确保援助不仅仅是解决人民的基本需求，而是解决他们过上有尊严生活的能力。

“我们现在有一个势头，加沙是每个人的想法，”她补充说。"但这种情况正在减少，加沙和巴勒斯坦将成为历史的最后一页."

这一点甚至在Blinken周三晚上在约旦安曼举行的新闻发布会上也很明显，记者们向他施压，问他是否向Sisi提出了人权问题，Sisi是一位强人总统，他骇人听闻的记录并没有阻止美国的援助或军事销售。

但不清楚拜登政府是否准备在这个问题上进行更深入的接触或投资，尤其是在它将气候变化和中国置于优先地位的时候。

周二在拉马拉至少有一个音符不同。作为一个父亲，布林肯充满感情地说，哀悼任何一个孩子的失去都是“一个失去的宇宙”。...无论你是以色列人、巴勒斯坦人还是美国人，你都是人。这才是最重要的。”

Blinken resets ties with Palestinians in 1st Mideast trip

After four years of PresidentDonald Trumptilting U.S. policy towardIsrael, Secretary of State Antony Blinken seems intent on a reset.

In hisfirst swing throughthe Middle East, America's new top diplomat tried to resume the United States' historic role as powerbroker and peacemaker between the Israelis and Palestinians, even as he and PresidentJoe Bidenhave been looking to pivot American attention away from the Mideast.

In meetings in Israel, the West Bank,Egyptand Jordan, Blinken sought to build on last week's cease-fire to now rebuild Gaza, withdestruction widespreadafter the 10-day conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas, and to now worktoward a two-state solution.

While Trump and his team claim credit for the "Abraham Accords," the historic agreements between the Israeli governments and those of four Arab neighbors, they slashed U.S. ties with the Palestinians -- closing diplomatic facilities, halting U.S. assistance and withholding opposition to Israeli settlements.

But neither those deals nor Trump's Mideast peace plan addressed the needs of the Palestinian people, whichanalysts arguedhas left the Palestinians worse off and more desperate.

"The ability of the United States to play a productive role in averting, easing and ending conflict is deeply compromised when we are disconnected from the Palestinian people," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal advocacy group J Street, blaming what he called "severe damage done to that relationship by President Trump."

In contrast, Blinken announced Tuesday that the Biden administration will restore those diplomatic ties by reopening its consulate general in Jerusalem that long served as a liaison to the Palestinian people and leadership. That de facto embassy was shuttered by Trump in March 2019, folding it into the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, which the former president recognized as Israel's capital.

More immediately, Blinken emphasized the need to rebuild Gaza, the Palestinian territory governed by the militant group Hamas that faced widespread destruction by Israeli airstrikes this month. The Biden administration will provide $5.5 million for Gaza to restore essential services like running water, sanitation and electricity, Blinken said, and another $32 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, which operates in the territory and elsewhere.

That funding includes cash for families to purchase basic necessities and health assistance and psychosocial support, according to USAID, for some of the 100,000 Gazans displaced by the violence in recent weeks.

After meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Wednesday, Blinken also said Egypt will provide $500 million in reconstruction assistance, while Qatar's government pledged $500 million as well, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.

In addition to that urgent aid, Blinken said his department will request $75 million from Congress for longer-term economic and development assistance to the West Bank and Gaza -- bringing total U.S. aid for this fiscal year to $360 million.

But while Hamas rules Gaza, Blinken argued that U.S. funding will not benefit the militant group and could also undermine its grip on power there by providing opportunities for ordinary Gazans.

"I've heard a shared recognition from all sides that steps need to be taken, work needs to be done to address the underlying conditions that helped fuel this latest conflict. The cease-fire creates space to begin to take those steps," Blinken said Tuesday night after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

He added that reconstruction must provide "a renewed sense of confidence, of optimism, of real opportunity. ... If we're able to do that all together, then Hamas' foothold in Gaza will slip."

Abbas has little to no influence in Gaza, but remains in power after years of deep unpopularity, in part because the Palestinians have not held elections since 2006, when his party Fatah lost Gaza to Hamas. Elections slated for this month were postponed by Abbas last month, citing Israel's refusal to allow them to proceed in Jerusalem.

Laila Barhoum, a policy and campaign officer with the aid group ‎Oxfam in Gaza, agreed that the U.S. needs to play a role, including promoting Palestinian elections and helping ensure reconstruction in Gaza is "happening with Palestinian ownership."

"We cannot go back to square zero because there's nothing to go back to. We have to move on reform -- make sure that aid is not just addressing people's basic need, it's addressing their ability to live a dignified life," she said Wednesday.

"We have a momentum now, and Gaza is on everyone's mind," she added. "But this is decreasing, and Gaza and Palestine is going to the back page."

That was apparent even in Blinken's press conference Wednesday night in Amman, Jordan, where reporters pressed him on whether he raised human rights issues with Sisi, the strongman president whose appalling record hasn't stopped U.S. assistance or military sales.

But it's unclear if the Biden administration is prepared to make a deeper engagement or invest in the issue, especially as it moves to prioritize climate change and China.

At least one note was different in Ramallah on Tuesday. Blinken talked with emotion as a father, mourning the loss of any child as "a universe of loss. ... Whether you're Israeli, Palestinian, American, you're a human being. That's what matters."