US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Sunday, as the Biden administration presses Israel to avoid civilian casualties in its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The unannounced visit came after stops in Tel Aviv and Amman, where Blinken met with Israeli and Arab officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza and to urge countries to consider a post-Hamas future for the enclave.
Blinken previously paired stops in Ramallah with visits to Jerusalem, in keeping with the Biden administration’s advocacy for a two-state solution as the best guarantor of security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Blinken restated the US commitment to humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and opposition to forced displacement of Palestinians, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The officials “discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible,” Miller said in the statement.
Blinken also repeated his endorsement of a two-state solution during his meeting with Abbas.
On Saturday, Blinken and his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts publicly disagreed over the need for a cease-fire, with the Arab foreign ministers saying the humanitarian situation in Gaza necessitates an immediate halt to the war. Blinken called for limited “humanitarian pauses” to allow for safe delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians, but warned that a cease-fire would only enable Hamas to renew its attacks on Israel.
The Biden administration has repeatedly supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, with pressure on Israel to safeguard civilians in Gaza.