TEL AVIV: Secretary of State John Kerry made a surprise visit to Israel on Wednesday, as he pressed his effort to forge a cease-fire to bring a halt to the bitter fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to NY Times.
Kerry’s plane touched down at Ben-Gurion International Airport just a day after the United States Federal Aviation Administration suspended American civilian flights to Israel.
Kerry will visit Jerusalem and the West Bank and is scheduled to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel; Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority; and Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations.
The flight cancellation comes after a Hamas rocket fell about a mile from the airport, leading to what the agency called “a potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza.â€
Ben-Gurion airport is the main international gateway to Israel, and the FAA’s decision prompted complaints from Israeli officials that it amounted to a reward to Hamas for its missile attacks.
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