US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, amid rising tension and escalating violence.
The top US diplomat reaffirmed Washington’s support for a two-state solution, but Blinken warned that the Palestinian people faced “a shrinking horizon of hope.”
Blinken also said that the US opposes any measure that makes achieving the two-state solution difficult, including settlement expansions and home demolition.
“We oppose any action by either side that makes that goal more difficult to achieve, more distant. And we’ve been clear that this includes things like settlement expansion, the legalization of outposts, demolitions and evictions, disruptions to the historic status quo of the holy sites, and of course incitement and acquiescence to violence. We look to both sides to unequivocally condemn any acts of violence regardless of the victim or the perpetrator,” Blinken said.
“We believe it’s important to take steps to de-escalate, stop violence, to reduce tensions – and to try as well to create the foundation for more positive actions going forward,” he added.
The chief US diplomat’s meeting with Abbas came one day after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli officials, in Jerusalem.
We’ve heard these things so many times before. It is clear that the American administration is incapable of doing much as long as it is so biased to the Israeli side, and so weak in its steps. I don’t think it could play a constructive role in this region.
In remarks after their meeting, Abbas repeatedly called on the international community to intervene and exert pressure on Israel to make sure it fulfills its signed commitments.
“We welcome you, and we affirm that the Israeli government is responsible for what’s happening these days, because of its practices that undermine the two-state solution and violate the signed agreements, and because of the lack of international efforts to dismantle the occupation and the settlement regimes, and the failure to recognize the Palestinian state and its full membership in the United Nations,” he said.
In a sign of real concern, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Jordanian intelligence director, Ahmad Hatuqai met Abbas in Ramallah ahead of Blinken’s arrival. Sources say they were trying to convince Abbas to take a softer position in conversation with Blinken.
During the meeting, Blinken announced that Washington will provide an additional $50 million for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars that it already has provided.
The Palestinians accuse Washington of absolute bias toward Israel.
While the top diplomat focused his efforts on trying to contain the escalation of violence and stopping it from spiraling out of control, Palestinians say Blinken’s visit failed in tackling the real issues.
“What we have seen and heard is so much of déjà vu,” Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council and a veteran politician, told The Media Line.
“We’ve heard these things so many times before. It is clear that the American administration is incapable of doing much as long as it is so biased to the Israeli side and so weak in its steps. I don’t think it could play a constructive role in this region,” Barghouti said.
Netanyahu returned to power in Israel in December and formed a government coalition that includes far-right politicians and religious nationalists in senior cabinet posts.
“The two-state solution is either dead or about to die, mainly because of the Israeli settlements activities. If this administration was serious about a two-state solution it would have declared it would impose sanctions on Israel unless it stops settlements activities immediately. Especially in the presence of this most racist, most extreme fascist government in Israel,” according to Barghouti.
The damp, cold weather did not stop dozens of Palestinians from gathering to protest Blinken’s visit and tell him what they think.
“We are standing here to say to Blinken to stop this biased support to Israel that has been unconditional for years and years. We are trying to tell him you are ignoring the Palestinian people’s right to survive, to have their own country, their freedom,” Ramallah resident Jamilah Abed told The Media Line.
The visit aims to calm down, as if the Palestinian people started the war against the occupation. The occupation and settlers declare open war against the Palestinian people, and this escalation must stop.
Wasel Abu Yousef, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, told The Media Line the US administration does not have a clear strategy on how to deal with the situation.
“We are here in rejection of the US policy that is biased toward the occupation and covers up the crimes of the occupation. The visit aims to calm down as if the Palestinian people started the war against the occupation. The occupation and settlers declare open war against the Palestinian people, and this escalation must stop,” Abu Yousef said.
On Thursday, Abbas stopped security coordination with Israel, following a deadly arrest raid on the Jenin refugee camp by the Israel Defense Forces, which killed nine people.
Israeli media reports that Abbas told CIA Director William Burns Sunday that parts of security coordination with Israel have remained in place, however.
Ramallah-based political analyst Fares Sarafandi told The Media Line that large-scale information sharing has stopped, but the lines remain open on “vital” communication.
“What the president meant was that what is being stopped is the exchange of information to an extent, but there are life matters that cannot be stopped, such as the permits granted to the Palestinians and matters related to urgent health cases, and these things pass through the gate of security coordination. Therefore, it is not possible to stop security coordination in the comprehensive sense,” according to Sarafandi.