As the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas continues, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken made a surprise visit to the Palestinian West Bank on the 5th and met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
This is the first time Secretary Blinken has visited the West Bank in person since the war between Israel and Hamas, which the United States designated as a terrorist group, began.
Secretary Blinken visited Ramallah, West Bank, without prior notice that day. Secretary Blincoln was initially expected to visit Turkye.
Reuters quoted a senior State Department official as saying, “Secretary Blinken told President Abbas that self-government should play a role in the future of the Gaza Strip.” He continued, “Although the future of the Gaza Strip is not the core topic of today’s meeting, the autonomous government has shown its intention to play that role.”
The two met for about an hour, but did not disclose the details of the meeting to the media.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Roudiine said Abbas told Secretary Blinken that an immediate ceasefire was needed and that aid should be expanded to the Gaza Strip.
Secretary Blinken previously met with Arab leaders in Amman, Jordan, on the 4th.
Secretary Blinken met with the foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and also met separately with Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said at a press conference after the meeting that Arab countries want an immediate ceasefire. “The entire region is sinking in a sea of hatred,” he continued, “and it will affect generations to come.”
Meanwhile, Israel announced on the 5th that it had “hit more than 2,500 terrorist targets” since it began its war against Hamas on the 7th of last month.
In a statement on this day, the Israeli military explained that it had hit about 2,500 Hamas facilities “through joint ground, air, and naval operations after the start of the ground war.”
VOA News
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2023-11-05 15:59:12
