Israel
US secretary of state meets with Mahmoud Abbas
Antony Blinken has rejected calls from Arab foreign ministers for an Israel Hamas ceasefire
November 5, 2023 12:46
Antony Blinken has rejected calls from Arab foreign ministers for an Israel Hamas ceasefire
November 5, 2023 12:46The American secretary of state has made an unannounced visit to the West Bank to meet Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian president reportedly told Antony Blinken that the US must back an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and support the delivery of aid to Gaza.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said America was working to increase aid flows and restore essential services in the Palestinian enclave.
"The Secretary [of State] also expressed the commitment of the United States to working toward the realization of the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for the establishment of a Palestinian state," he added.
Abbas also reportedly declared that Palestinians “must not be forcibly displaced" from Gaza.
The meeting came days after Blinken rebuffed calls from Arab foreign ministers for a ceasefire.
Following talks with Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, Qatari and Emirati diplomats and a senior Palestinian official, he declared that a halt to the conflict now would merely restrict Israel's right to defend its citizens from Hamas terror.
He said: “It is our view now that a cease-fire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did."
Speaking in Beirut, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that Blinken, “should stop the aggression and should not come up with ideas that cannot be implemented.”