U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Monday for talks to urge a de-escalation in deadly violence that has flared in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Washington's top diplomat arrived in Israel on the second leg of his Middle East tour, after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the country's foreign minister in Cairo.

Blinken arrived amid one of the bloodiest violence between Israel and Palestine in years. Since the start of the year, the Israel-Palestine conflict has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.

Seven people were shot dead in annexed east Jerusalem in an attack on January 27, a day after an army raid claimed 10 Palestinian lives in the West Bank.

Following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken urged "all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to de-escalate" and restated Washington's belief that a two-state solution was the only way to resolve the conflict.

However, despite such appeals, Blinken didn't give specific ideas for calming the situation and it remained uncertain from his meeting with Netanyahu that there would be any.

It is Blinken's first trip to Israel since Netanyahu's far-right government took office late last year. The trip is part of Biden administration's efforts to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who had tense relations with the previous Democratic President Barack Obama.

The U.S. government has been reluctant to criticize Israeli attacks against Palestinians, including settlement activity, while Blinken verbally advocated a two-state solution to the conflict.

Israeli attack on January 26, which killed an elderly Palestinian woman, was described by the U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel as a "counter-terrorism operation."

After meeting with Netanyahu, the top U.S. diplomat was due to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.

(With input from agencies)

(Cover: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a news conference in Jerusalem, Israel, January 30, 2023. /Reuters)

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