Blinken Holds Rare Call With PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Effort to Reengage

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a rare phone call on Monday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in which they discussed the need for reform in the PA. The call was meant to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the US and the PA. “We have prioritized re-engagement with the Palestinian people and the PA,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Monday. A State Department readout of the conversation said that Blinken and Abbas “discussed the importance of strengthening the US relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people, as well as the need to improve quality of life for Palestinians in tangible ways. They also discussed the challenges facing the Palestinian Authority and the need for reform. Blinken “reiterated that Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live safely and securely, and enjoy equal measures of security, freedom, and prosperity, and reaffirmed the US administration’s commitment to a two-state solution,” the readout said. The PA readout of the call did not mention discussion of reform in the PA, Reuters reported. Blinken also spoke on Monday with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who is also the country’s alternate prime minister. Blinken and Lapid “discussed the strong US-Israel relationship and shared challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as the threats posed by Iran,” according to a State Department readout of the call. The readout said that Blinken “reiterated the administration’s steadfast commitment to Israel’s security” and that Blinken and Lapid “also discussed Israeli-Palestinian issues.”