Antony Blinken

I have... inordinate respect for the people in this department who've not only had different views of the policies that we pursued, but have expressed those views, including in what's been a time-honored tradition of the department, which is something called a descent channel cable. This is the ability of any officer in the department.

to send a message, a memo, a cable to me reflecting their differences. And every single one of those winds up on my desk, every single one of those I read, every single one of those I respond to, including 20 or so on Gaza. And some, of course, have brought forward some of these facts. I didn't need to send channel cables to have the facts in front of me. I get them every single day.

to send a message, a memo, a cable to me reflecting their differences. And every single one of those winds up on my desk, every single one of those I read, every single one of those I respond to, including 20 or so on Gaza. And some, of course, have brought forward some of these facts. I didn't need to send channel cables to have the facts in front of me. I get them every single day.

I read everything. I comment on everything. I look for answers on everything. Does that mean we get to the right answers every time? No. But does it mean we're intensely focused on it? Yes.

I read everything. I comment on everything. I look for answers on everything. Does that mean we get to the right answers every time? No. But does it mean we're intensely focused on it? Yes.

And again, my goal has been to end this conflict in Gaza in a way that makes sure that October 7th doesn't happen again, that ends the suffering of people and does it in an enduring way that brings the hostages home.

And again, my goal has been to end this conflict in Gaza in a way that makes sure that October 7th doesn't happen again, that ends the suffering of people and does it in an enduring way that brings the hostages home.

Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes.

No. It's not, first of all. Second, as to how the world sees it, I can't fully answer to that. But Everyone has to look at the facts and draw their own conclusions from those facts. And my conclusions are clear. I think as well, there is, in the wake of this horrific suffering, the traumatization of the Israeli population, the Palestinian population, and many others, there's also a light.

No. It's not, first of all. Second, as to how the world sees it, I can't fully answer to that. But Everyone has to look at the facts and draw their own conclusions from those facts. And my conclusions are clear. I think as well, there is, in the wake of this horrific suffering, the traumatization of the Israeli population, the Palestinian population, and many others, there's also a light.

that one can see, that offers the prospect of a much different and much better future. It doesn't bring back the lives of those who've been lost. It doesn't bring back the parents of the children in Gaza who've lost their parents or the children for parents in Israel on October 7th. who lost theirs, but it does offer a different way forward.

that one can see, that offers the prospect of a much different and much better future. It doesn't bring back the lives of those who've been lost. It doesn't bring back the parents of the children in Gaza who've lost their parents or the children for parents in Israel on October 7th. who lost theirs, but it does offer a different way forward.

And we've done an extraordinary amount of work to build the foundation for that. First, you've got to end the conflict in Gaza. And I believe it will end, and it will probably end more or less on the terms that we've established in the hostage ceasefire agreement that President Biden put forward, that we got the whole world behind. It will land there. Second, you have to make sure it's enduring.

And we've done an extraordinary amount of work to build the foundation for that. First, you've got to end the conflict in Gaza. And I believe it will end, and it will probably end more or less on the terms that we've established in the hostage ceasefire agreement that President Biden put forward, that we got the whole world behind. It will land there. Second, you have to make sure it's enduring.

We've spent months working on a post-conflict plan with many countries in the region, Arab partners in particular. And that plan is – if we don't have the opportunity to start to try to implement it through a hostage ceasefire agreement in the next couple of weeks, we will hand it off to the incoming Trump administration and they can decide whether to move forward with it.

We've spent months working on a post-conflict plan with many countries in the region, Arab partners in particular. And that plan is – if we don't have the opportunity to start to try to implement it through a hostage ceasefire agreement in the next couple of weeks, we will hand it off to the incoming Trump administration and they can decide whether to move forward with it.

Third, we have the prospect of a totally different region with normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and many other countries. Israel integrated into the security architecture of the region and – because it will be a requirement of any such normalization agreement, a real pathway to a Palestinian state. We've done all of the work to put those plans in place.

Third, we have the prospect of a totally different region with normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and many other countries. Israel integrated into the security architecture of the region and – because it will be a requirement of any such normalization agreement, a real pathway to a Palestinian state. We've done all of the work to put those plans in place.

Normalization with Saudi Arabia, that can happen tomorrow based on the work that we've done, the investments we've made, once there is an end to the conflict in Gaza and an agreement on a credible pathway forward for the Palestinians. All of that work is there. That's what we'll be handing over. But