Antony Blinken with Mahmoud Abbas
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a high-security surprise visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
The top US official met with Abbas in Ramallah as world alarm grows over escalating violence in the Palestinian territory, which has been accompanied by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since October 7.
According to Israeli officials, the conflict began when Hamas operatives launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,400 people, the majority of whom were civilians.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited Israel three times since the war began, and according to the Hamas-run health ministry, nearly 9,500 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory land, air, and sea assault on Gaza.
However, it was his first visit to the West Bank since October 7.
For security concerns, the travel was not mentioned in advance, and it came after Blinken visited Jordan and neighboring Israel on Friday.
As per the statement, after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Blinken expressed concern regarding the increasing violence in the West Bank and emphasized the US commitment to working with partners towards a durable and sustainable peace in the region.
Blinken’s meeting with Abbas, whose secularist Fatah party competes with Hamas, came at a time when Washington has thrown its diplomatic and military support behind Israel.
The US has long argued that a two-state solution is the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian war.
Recently, Blinken stated the Palestinian Authority should take control of Gaza, which is now ruled by Hamas.
The United States, as well as a number of European and Arab countries, as well as the United Nations, have expressed concern over the escalating tensions in the West Bank.
The Israeli army announced Friday that its forces were operating against Hamas in Jenin and Nablus, which are located in the north of the territory it has occupied since 1967.
During his Middle East tour, Blinken argued for ‘humanitarian pauses’ to protect civilians and enable aid supplies in the densely populated Gaza Strip, which is under bombardment.
On Sunday evening, he is scheduled to fly to Ankara, Turkey.
Also read: Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in West Bank
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