RAMALLAH – US high diplomat Antony Blinken made an unannounced go to to the occupied West Bank on Sunday and met with the Palestinian Authority president as he continues a tour of the area amid spiraling tensions over Israel’s battle with Hamas.
Blinken and Mahmoud Abbas met within the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital, on his second go to to the area since Palestinian Hamas fighters launched a shock assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 individuals and taking greater than 240 others hostage.
As Israel continued a marketing campaign of air strikes that Gaza well being officers say has killed practically 9,500 Palestinians, Secretary of State Blinken rebuffed requires a ceasefire from Arab officers on Saturday after interesting, unsuccessfully, to Israel for extra restricted pauses to the preventing a day earlier.
As nicely as looking for to make sure the battle doesn’t unfold within the area, Blinken is attempting to kickstart discussions on how Gaza may very well be ruled after the whole destruction of Hamas that Israel says is its intention.
Blinken informed Abbas that the Palestinian Authority ought to play a central function in what comes subsequent within the Gaza Strip, a senior State Department official informed Reuters.
“(The) future of Gaza was not the focus of the meeting but the Palestinian Authority seemed willing to play a role,” the senior State Department official added.
The two met for about an hour however didn’t handle the media.
Abbas informed Blinken there ought to be a right away ceasefire and that assist ought to be allowed into Gaza, in accordance with spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh.
Blinken stated the United States was dedicated to getting assist into Gaza and restoring important companies there, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated in a readout of the assembly.
“The Secretary also expressed the commitment of the United States to working toward the realization of the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Miller stated.
Blinken has advised an “effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority” would take advantage of sense to in the end run the strip however admitted that different international locations and worldwide companies would possible play a job in safety and governance within the interim.
Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which workout routines restricted self-rule within the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has seen its reputation shrivel amid allegations of graft, incompetence and broadly hated safety cooperation preparations with Israel. It is unclear who will succeed the growing older and ailing Abbas, 87, a staunch opponent of Hamas.
The international ministers of Egypt and Jordan stated on Saturday after assembly with Blinken that it was untimely to speak about the way forward for Gaza, as they known as for a right away ceasefire to deal with the humanitarian disaster that has engulfed the strip’s 2.3 million residents.
Blinken argued {that a} ceasefire would solely permit Hamas to regroup, however is attempting to persuade Israel to conform to location-specific pauses that will permit a lot wanted assist to be distributed inside Gaza.
The assembly was Blinken’s second with Abbas for the reason that battle started, however the first to happen within the West Bank. It was not introduced forward of time and Reuters agreed to not publish particulars of the journey till it was full as a result of safety issues.
Violence within the Israeli-occupied West Bank, already at a greater than 15-year excessive this 12 months, has surged additional for the reason that battle started, with greater than 170 assaults on Palestinians involving Jewish settlers recorded by the United Nations.
Blinken and Abbas “discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible,” Miller stated. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
