Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has vowed that his government will take control of Gaza Strip once Israel’s bloody war against Hamas is won.
He made the comments during a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken as Washington aims to ease tensions in the Middle East and broker a solution to the conflict.
Blinken went to Ramallah on Sunday, and was transported through the West Bank in an armored motorcade under tight security.
His visit comes just hours after an Israeli plane struck a refugee camp in Gaza, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens.
There were protests in the Palestinian region against Mr Blinken’s visit.
Neither man spoke as they greeted each other in front of cameras and their meeting ended without any public comment.
A senior American official traveling with Blinken said stressed the U.S. commitment to pressing Israel to protect civilians in Gaza, increase humanitarian aid supplies and rein in and punish extremist Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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Blinken told Abbas that the US is trying to restore suspended tax remittance transfers to the Palestinian Authority.
The funds were blocked partially last week, and the PA is now calling for the full amount to be transferred.
In addition, Blinken said the US envisions the Palestinian Authority as “playing a central role” in any post-Hamas administration in Gaza, according to the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to detail private discussions.
He called for an immediate cession of the war, and the delivery of humanitarian aid and fuel, and the restoration of water and electricity in Gaza.
The Palestinian leader said “military and security solutions” would not bring security to Israel, but that “security and peace” would be achieved only through ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 Mideast war borders with east Jerusalem its capital, according to the report.
Israel is waging war on Hamas after the brutal terror attack that saw 1,400 civilians killed.
Strikes in Gaza from Israel have killed over 9,000 civilians.
This story includes reporting from the Associated Press.
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