Hillary Clinton Heads to Israel, Palestine & Egypt as Gaza Fight Rages

Hillary Clinton, Israel, Hamas, Gaza Strip

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is flying to Israel today, and plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday as violence continues to mount along the Gaza Strip.

The White House confirmed Clinton will visit Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo for talks on the Gaza crisis, reports RTE.ie news. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet with Netanyahu today, and is warning that an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza would be “a dangerous escalation.”

And as the crisis continues, Russia is accusing the United states of blocking a bid by the U.N. Security Council to condemn the conflict, and said council members were filibustering the issue. However, U.S. officials say its important the council doesn’t harm peace talk efforts between Israel and Hamas militants.

The UNSC held heated closed-door talks on a possible statement, but diplomats said a sticking point was that the text did not mention Hamas missile attacks on Israel, which it said prompted the offensive.

The Security Council is deadlocked, blaming that on the United States’ determination to protect its close ally Israel.