On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, at the end of an intensive diplomatic tour.
Blinken, at the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, expressed his “sorrow” and offered his “condolences” for the killing of innocent Palestinians “in the escalation of violence over the past year.”
Blinken affirmed the United States’ commitment to the two-state solution and said he opposed any unilateral measures that prevented it.
Blinken enumerated among these measures “the expansion of settlements or the legalization of outposts, acts of demolition and expulsion, a change in the status quo in holy places, and of course incitement or approval of violence.”
Blinken urged Abbas to make more calm efforts, following the Palestinian Authority’s cessation of security coordination with Israel.
For his part, President Abbas said, “The Israeli government is responsible for what is happening today… because of its practices that undermine the two-state solution and violate the signed agreements.”
Before heading to Ramallah, Blinken met with the new Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, who thanked him for his “steadfast support for Israel’s qualitative military superiority and its right to defend itself.”
For its part, Hamas said that Blinken’s visit “represents a cover for the fascist, extremist occupation government to pass its criminal policy and aggression once morest the Palestinian people, their sanctities and their families.”
Blinken’s visit comes following two armed attacks by Palestinians in East Jerusalem over the weekend that killed seven Israeli settlers.
The two attacks came following 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, in an escalation, as a result of which the Palestinian Authority decided to stop security coordination with Israel.
image copyright EPA-EFE
Blinken affirmed his country’s position in support of the principle of the two-state solution
The United States criticized this step, expressing fears that it might lead to a further deterioration.
Blinken had urged the two, Israelis and Palestinians, to take “urgent steps” to restore calm amid the escalation of violence.
Speaking in Jerusalem, Blinken reiterated US support for the two-state solution as the “best way” to achieve security for both sides.
The new Israeli government opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Two Palestinians were shot dead in two separate incidents in the occupied West Bank before Blinken arrived.
An 18-year-old was killed by an Israeli security guard near the Kedumim settlement in the northern West Bank on Saturday night.
On Monday morning, Israeli forces opened fire on a car they claimed hit a soldier and fled, killing the 26-year-old driver in Hebron.
Blinken said the United States has “an enduring goal of Palestinians and Israelis enjoying equal levels of freedom, security, opportunity, justice, and dignity,” and this can best be achieved through “fulfilling the vision of two states,” an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“That is why we urge all parties now to take urgent steps to restore calm and reduce tensions. We want to make sure that there is an environment in which we can … at some point create the conditions to restore a sense of security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” he added.
The newly formed Netanyahu government consists of parties that strongly oppose the concept of a Palestinian state, and support the expansion of Jewish settlements on lands claimed by the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law.
The Israeli prime minister vowed to take tough action in response to the attacks over the weekend. Israeli forces reinforced their deployment in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and sealed off the homes of both attackers, in preparation for their demolition.
The government also pledged to expand and expedite the issuance of gun licenses to Israeli citizens, as well as take measures once morest “families of terrorists who support terrorism,” including revoking their members’ residency and social security rights.
Recently, US officials have made several visits to Jerusalem, and there is talk of a possible visit by Netanyahu to the White House in February.