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Blinken in Israel to calm flaring conflict with Palestinians

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Monday ahead of talks urging a deescalation in violence that has flared in the Israeli-Palestinian 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.

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Blinken meets al-Sisi as Israel-Palestinian violence flares

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off a Middle East trip in Cairo on Monday focused on urging calm amid an escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

Washington's top diplomat met Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and was later set to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories to urge steps "to de-escalate tensions", the State Department has said.

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Israeli troops kill Palestinian driver as car speeds off

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian driver in the occupied West Bank Monday, officials on both sides said, with the army saying the car had hit a soldier's leg before speeding off.

Nassim Naif Salman Abu Fouda, 26, died from "a bullet wound to the head fired by the occupation (Israeli) soldiers in Hebron this morning," the Palestinian health ministry said.

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Israeli-Palestinian cauldron tests US as Blinken visits

An alarming spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence and sharp responses by both sides are testing the Biden administration as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plunges into a cauldron of deepening mistrust and anger on visits to Israel and the West Bank this week.

What had already been expected to be a trip fraught with tension over differences between the administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new far-right government has grown significantly more complicated over the past four days with a spate of deadly incidents. Blinken's high-wire diplomatic act begins on Monday after he completes a brief visit to Egypt that has been almost entirely overshadowed by the deteriorating security situation in Israel and the West Bank.

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Macron calls for restraint after Israel-Palestinian violence

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for restraint after the latest flare-up in violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Macron "recalled the need for all to avoid measures likely to feed the spiral of violence", said his office.

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10 dead in drone strikes on pro-Iran groups in Syria

A total of 10 people were killed in a series of drone strikes targeting pro-Iran factions in eastern Syria, including three dead in strikes on Monday, a war monitor said. 

A pro-Iranian commander was among the three killed in the drone strikes Monday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that they had been inspecting the site of strikes that had killed seven others the previous evening.

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Blinken lands in Cairo for start of Mideast visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt Sunday on the first stop of his Middle East visit, where he is expected to address a surge in deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence.

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Israel takes measures against families of Palestinian attackers

Israel sealed the family home Sunday of a Palestinian in east Jerusalem who killed seven people near a synagogue, as part of measures to revoke certain rights of attackers' relatives.

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Israeli police arrest dozens after deadly synagogue shooting

Israel police said Saturday they arrested dozens of people after a Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue in one of the deadliest attacks in Jerusalem in years.

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Two Israelis wounded in shooting near Jerusalem Old City

Two Israelis were wounded Saturday in a gun attack just outside the Old City in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Israel's Magen David Adom rescue emergency response service said.

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