US backs ‘tangible steps’ for Palestinian state, Blinken tells Abbas
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Jan 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories - The United States’ top diplomat Antony Blinken told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Jan 10 that Washington supports “tangible steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state.
Mr Blinken reiterated Washington’s longstanding position that a Palestinian state must stand alongside Israel, “with both living in peace and security”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Palestinian statehood was anticipated following the Oslo Accords of the 1990s but talks have been moribund for years.
The Israeli government has shown no interest in reviving negotiations, and the Palestinian leadership remains split between the Palestinian Authority, headed by Mr Abbas, and Hamas, which rules Gaza.
Mr Abbas described the Gaza Strip as “an integral part of the Palestinian state”, according to official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
“It is not possible to accept or deal with the plans of the occupation authorities to separate it, or cut off any part of it,” the Palestinian leader told Mr Blinken.
Mr Abbas further called for “convening an international peace conference to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, which achieves peace and security for all”, according to Wafa.
Discussions have been under way for weeks over the post-war governance of Gaza, though Israel has warned the fighting is likely to continue for months.
The Palestinian President also raised “efforts made to stop the Israeli aggression against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank”, Wafa reported.
Mr Blinken referred to “increased volatility” in the West Bank, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in raids by the Israeli military or attacks by Jewish settlers in recent months.
As part of efforts to stabilise the territory, Mr Blinken called on Israel to hand over revenues owed to the Palestinians in full.
Mr Blinken “underscored the United States’ position that all Palestinian tax revenues collected by Israel should be consistently conveyed to the Palestinian Authority in accordance with prior agreements”, Mr Miller said.
Israel has for years withheld part of the funds, over issues including payments to Palestinian prisoners and more recently the Gaza war.
Mr Blinken met Mr Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He crossed Israeli checkpoints to reach the de facto Palestinian capital Ramallah, according to pool reporters who travelled with him.
The visit came a day after talks on Jan 9 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Mr Blinken went to Israel after visiting Washington’s Arab allies, which he said want closer relations with Israel, but only if that included a “practical pathway” to a Palestinian state.
At a news conference on Jan 9, Mr Blinken declined to characterise how Mr Netanyahu and his Cabinet responded to his appeal on a Palestinian state. He said Israel would have to make “hard decisions, hard choices” to take advantage of the opportunity offered by regional integration.
"Extremist settler violence carried out with impunity, settlement expansion, demolitions, evictions, all make it harder, not easier, for Israel to achieve lasting peace and security," he said, alluding to conflict in the West Bank. AFP, REUTERS
