Blinken meets Palestinian leader Abbas in surprise West Bank visit
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah during a surprise visit to the West Bank on Sunday, stepping up Washington’s Middle East diplomacy as the Israel-Hamas war escalates.
They discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and to hold those accountable responsible, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said after the meeting, the AP reported. There were no public comments from either participant.
Abbas told Blinken that there should be an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and the delivery of aid into the Gaza Strip, according to Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian leader, Reuters reported.
The call for a cease-fire echoed demands from Arab leaders in recent days. France on Sunday reiterated its urging that the hostilities in Gaza be immediately put to an end.
In retaliation for the Hamas militant group’s surprise attacks on October 7, which killed over 1,400 people on Israeli soil, Israel has ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, limiting access to food, water and fuel in the Hamas-controlled territory, while restricting aid deliveries. According to the Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza, more than 9,400 people have been killed in Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in the Palestinian enclave ,which is home to 2.3 million people.
The U.S., a staunch Israel ally, has said it was in favor of a pause in the conflict to address humanitarian concerns, but has stopped short of calling for a cease-fire. “It is our view now that a cease-fire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat,” Blinken said after meeting with his Jordanian counterpart on Saturday.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has flared tensions in the Israel-occupied West Bank, where Abbas’s secular Fatah party exerts limited self-rule in some parts of the territory. According to the Ramallah-based health authorities, 150 people have been killed in violent clashes with Israeli forces and settlers.
