US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was “committed to reforming the governing entity in the occupied West Bank” following a meeting between the two men in the Palestinian territory.
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“I don't want to speak for President Abbas, but I think what I take away from this meeting is that he is committed to this and is very ready to move on from there,” Mr Blinken said in response to a question from AFP about the commitment by Mr Abbas for reform of the Palestinian Authority.
Antony Blinken made this statement in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, as part of a regional trip that had recently taken him to Israel and the West Bank. He met Mr. Abbas in Ramallah, in Israeli-occupied territory.
At that meeting, “we also talked about the importance of reforming the Palestinian Authority, its policies and its governance so that it can actually take responsibility for Gaza and Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited under Palestinian leadership,” he said.
“It is very clear to me that President Abbas is ready to move forward and participate in all of these efforts,” the US secretary of state added.
The Palestinian Authority was driven out of the Gaza Strip in 2007 by the Islamist movement Hamas, which had won Palestinian elections a year earlier.
Mr. Blinken also highlighted the “important work that needs to be done to help Gaza get back on its feet, as well as the efforts that countries in the region are clearly ready to make.”
In Bahrain, the US official will meet with King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to discuss how to prevent an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The US Secretary of State on Wednesday particularly accused Iran of using “technology, equipment, intelligence and information” to “support” and “facilitate” a series of attacks in the Red Sea, where rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for several attacks. . on ships, in solidarity, it is said, with the Palestinians in Gaza.
“The actions of the Houthis,” who threaten global trade, “will have consequences,” he warned.