The US Secretary of State heads to occupied Jerusalem to attend a meeting with four Arab countries

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken flew to Israel on Saturday, where he will attend an Arab-Israeli meeting during a visit likely to be dominated by discussions over Iran's nuclear talks and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The US State Department said Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday. Bennett is trying to mediate an end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict that began a month ago.

The office of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said it would invite Blinken and his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt to a "historic meeting" on Sunday and Monday.

The meeting will be held in a luxury hotel in the desert farm of Sde Boker (south), where the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, retired and was buried.

Blinken is scheduled to visit the West Bank, Morocco and Algeria on a visit that will also focus on Iran and regional security affairs.

The US State Department said in a statement that Blinken will also meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.(Reuters)