Abbas spoke of an Israeli “genocide” against the residents of the Gaza Strip. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA relayed statements from Abbas to Blinken. The Palestinian president said: “I have no words to describe the genocide and destruction suffered by our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip at the hands of the Israeli war machine – without taking into account the principles of international law.”
Israel rejects these allegations and emphasizes that it only attacks targets of the Islamic group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. Israel’s objective is to completely destroy Hamas’ military capabilities following the October 7 massacre. According to its own information, the Israeli army has already attacked more than 2,500 targets in the Gaza Strip. Troops continued to “eliminate terrorists” in hand-to-hand combat, it was said as recently as Sunday.
Portal/Johnathan Ernst US Secretary of State Blinken made an unannounced visit to the West Bank and President Abbas
Abbas also warned against the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank or Jerusalem. Peace and security can only be achieved by putting an end to the Israeli occupation. Since the start of the war, violence in the West Bank has also increased – according to Palestinian sources, more than 150 Palestinians have been killed in Palestinian territory by the Israeli army or radical Israeli settlers.
Supporting Abbas’ control over the Gaza Strip
Abbas expressed his willingness to take “full responsibility” for the Gaza Strip, but only as part of a “package” with a comprehensive political solution also for the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Palestinians claim these areas for their own state.
Blinken meets Abbas in the West Bank
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken unexpectedly met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah as part of his mediation efforts in the Middle East. The Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank city, released images of the meeting. It is the first visit by the US chief diplomat to the West Bank since the major attack by radical Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7.
Blinken also spoke out in favor of retaking control of the Gaza Strip by Abbas’s Palestinian Authority. However, this view is seen by most members of Israel’s current government as a threat to the Jewish State and is therefore rejected. In 2007, Hamas violently took exclusive control of the Gaza Strip and expelled Abbas’ Fatah from there.
According to the US State Department, Blinken said the US is committed to measures that bring equal dignity and security to Palestinians and Israelis. The United States also maintained its commitment to humanitarian assistance and the restoration of basic services in Gaza. Palestinians must no longer be forced to leave their homes. He and Abbas also discussed measures that should lead to calm and stability in the West Bank, he said.
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Blinken had already met with colleagues from Arab countries in Jordan on Saturday. There he repeated his call for “humanitarian pauses”. The aim is to help protect civilians and bring more aid to the Gaza Strip. The US and Israel exclude a permanent ceasefire because, in their opinion, this would allow Hamas, which governs the country, to reorganize itself.
Blinken then traveled to Cyprus on Sunday and met with President Nikos Christodoulidis in Larnaca. As Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis also announced on Twitter (X), it was an initiative by Cyprus to create a humanitarian maritime corridor for the delivery of humanitarian aid from Cyprus with its final destination in Gaza. Another point of discussion was the possible evacuation of people from the Middle East through airports and ports in Cyprus. Cyprus had already become a center for evacuation operations, being the closest safe location during other crises in the Middle East.
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Erdogan will not be present at the meetings
Blinken planned to arrive in Turkey on Sunday night and talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan are scheduled for Monday in Ankara. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims he will be absent from the US Secretary of State’s short-term visit to Ankara.
He will continue his trip within Turkey as planned and will be in the remote northeastern city of Ayder on Monday, Erdogan said in a speech in the Black Sea city of Rize on Sunday. In Ayder he wanted to examine “urban change” in the region. Before Erdogan’s statements, Blinken’s environment had expressed optimism about a possible meeting with the Turkish president.