The US Secretary of State visited the occupied West Bank on October 7, his fourth trip to the region since the start of the Gaza war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank’s Ramallah, where the two leaders discussed postwar plans for Gaza, including steps toward establishing a Palestinian state.
Wednesday’s visit was part of the top US diplomat’s fourth visit to the region since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7. After the meeting, Mr. Blinken made a surprise visit to Bahrain, and Mr. Abbas met with neighboring leaders in Jordan.
Blinken’s arrival in Ramallah was greeted by demonstrators holding placards that read “Stop the Genocide,” “Liberate Palestine” and “Blinken Go!” Some scuffled with Palestinian security forces wearing riot gear.
According to reports, Blinken discussed efforts to “minimize civilian casualties” in Gaza and increase aid delivery within the besieged enclave. statement The US State Department echoed the points he had made during his visit to Israel the day before.
He also expressed support for a Palestinian state and encouraged “administrative reforms” in the Palestinian Authority (PA), the State Department added. Abbas told Prime Minister Blinken that Palestinians should not be evacuated from Gaza or the West Bank, PA said.
Meanwhile, Hamas refused to allow Blinken to visit the region. “The purpose of the visit was to support the security of the occupation. There is no difference between Israelis and Americans,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Hamas said in a statement that U.S. officials’ “attempts to justify the genocide of Palestinian civilians by Israeli occupation forces are an attempt to wash their hands of a criminal occupation that has shed the blood of children, women, and the elderly in Gaza.” “This is a pathetic attempt to do so.” .
More than 23,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israeli shelling during the three-month war. The war began after fighters from Hamas, the group that rules Gaza, attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people.
Postwar Gaza
Since the start of the war, the United States has repeatedly stated that the PA should take control of Gaza once Israel achieves its objective of eliminating Hamas.
The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in the occupied West Bank, lost control of the area to Hamas in 2007. The Palestinian Authority’s popularity throughout the Palestinian territories has waned over the years.
After visiting Bahrain later on Wednesday, Blinken said he discussed the role of regional powers in post-conflict Gaza and efforts to unite regional countries. He added that this would be done in a way that “ensures Israel’s security and provides the Palestinians with a path to their own state.”
Blinken also said Abbas had agreed to “move forward and address some of these efforts” and was ready to “reform” the PA so it could take control of a unified Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Ta.
Blinken declined to say how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet responded to his appeal for a Palestinian state. He said Israel would have to make “hard decisions, hard choices” to take advantage of the opportunities presented by regional integration.
“Extremist settler violence, settlement expansion, destruction and displacement, carried out with impunity, all make it difficult for Israel to achieve lasting peace and security,” he said at a press conference. But it’s not easy.”
Since October 7, violence in the occupied West Bank has increased to levels not seen in nearly two decades. At least 314 Palestinians, including 81 minors, have been killed since then, according to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Late Wednesday, Prime Minister Abbas was in Jordan to meet King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who spoke at the end of an Arab summit in Aqaba about Israel’s “invasion” of Gaza. He stressed the need to step up pressure to stop and protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.
In a palace statement, the two leaders rejected Israeli plans to separate the fate of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, adding that the two organizations are the basis of a future Palestinian state. Ta.
Blinken’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories comes after touring Washington’s allies in the Middle East, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have said they want closer ties with Israel. But he said that would only be possible if it included a “realistic path forward” for Palestinians. state.