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US State Secretary Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to the occupied West Bank on Sunday and met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas amid escalating tension between Israel and Hamas.
Abbas and Blinken met in Ramallah where the Palestinian president emphasised the need for an “immediate ceasefire” and called the current Israel attacks on Gaza a genocide.
In his meeting with the top US diplomat, the de facto Palestinian President said that he is unable to gather words to “describe the genocide and destruction” suffered by Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of “Israel’s war machine”.
He also added that Israel’s attacks on Gaza disregard “the principles of international law,” as per media reports.
The meeting lasted for less than an hour in which Blinken mentioned about United State’s commitment to getting aid into Gaza and restoring essential services there, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
"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 said.
Antony Blinekn and President 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 said.
This is the second visit of Blinken to the region since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1400 Israelis. Moreover, though this is Blinken’s second meeting with President Abbas, it's his first visit to the occupied West Bank amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The top US diplomat’s visit to Ramallah comes after his meeting with Israeli and Arab leaders in Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan. The meeting focused on the need to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip from spreading and also to convince Israel to limit civilian casualties in the enclave.
Here Blinken also urged for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, even though the US stands with Israel in its right to defend itself.c
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