During talks in Ramallah, US Secretary of State Blinken emphasized: The US supports the creation of a Palestinian state – but only alongside Israel. He and Palestinian President Abbas did not agree on all points.
In the West Bank, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about the future of the embattled Gaza Strip. He reiterated that the US supports “tangible steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state.”
The US government insists that a Palestinian state must exist alongside Israel to ensure peace and security, said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. With a view to the fighting in the Gaza Strip, Blinken reiterated calls to minimize damage to civilians in the sealed-off coastal strip and to speed up and increase the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
discussion about Palestinian tax money
The conversation between Blinken and Abbas also discussed the payment of tax revenue collected by Israel in the West Bank. Israel collects taxes and customs duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Blinken now emphasized that all Palestinian tax revenue collected by Israel should be consistently passed on to the PA in accordance with previous agreements.
Israel’s right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently emphasized again that Israel would not release these funds. “I ask our friends in the United States: Can you imagine that Washington transfers hundreds of millions of dollars every month to the planners and perpetrators of the September 11th terrorist attack?” Smotrich said, according to Israeli media sources.
Blinking demands Administrative reform the authority
According to consistent media reports, the conversation in Ramallah was particularly tense on this topic. Abbas is said to have asked Blinken to put pressure on Israel to release the frozen funds. Blinken, on the other hand, insisted that there must be administrative reforms at the PA. These would benefit the Palestinian people.
It is Blinken’s fourth trip to the Middle East since the start of the war. His route has already included stages in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. According to a US State Department official, Blinken is visiting the Gulf emirate of Bahrain today to speak with the local King Hamad about avoiding regional escalation.
Bettina Meier, ARD Tel Aviv, tagesschau, January 10, 2024 5:26 p.m