AFP | | Posted by Singh Rahul Sunilkumar US top diplomat Blinken meets President Abbas of Palestine during unexpected visit to the West Bank

 AFP | | Posted by Singh Rahul Sunilkumar US top diplomat Blinken meets President Abbas of Palestine during unexpected visit to the West Bank

Amidst escalating violence in the area, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unexpected visit to get acquainted with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. According to photos made public by the Palestinian Authority, Washington Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas during a surprise, high-security visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday. As international alarm over the escalating violence in the occupied territory and the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza since October 7 intensifies, the senior US ambassador met with Abbas in Ramallah. According to Israeli estimates, 1,400 people, largely civilians, were murdered in an assault on southern Israel by Hamas terrorists, which sparked the start of the conflict.

Blinken has been to Israel three times since the war began, and he has also visited several other Arab countries. Since then, Israel has launched a retaliatory land, air, and sea assault on Gaza, which has resulted in about 9,500 deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. However, he hadn't visited the West Bank since October 7. For security concerns, the travel was not disclosed beforehand. Blinken had just returned from a visit to neighboring Israel and Jordan on Friday.

Blinken "expressed regret regarding the increasing violence in the territory of the West Bank and underscored the US commitment to working with partners achieving a durable and sustainable peace in the surrounding area," according to a statement released after a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan. In accordance to the Palestinian Authority, which is located in Ramallah, more than 150 Palestinians have lost their lives in battles with Israeli forces and assaults by Israeli settlers since the beginning of the conflict.

Washington has been throwing diplomatic and military support to Israel at the same time as Blinken spoke with Abbas, the leader of the secularist Fatah party, which is Hamas's adversary. The only way out of the Israeli-Palestinian problem, according to the United States, is via a two-state solution. Blinken recently said that the Gaza Strip, which is now run by Hamas, ought to be returned to the Palestinian Authority. The United Nations, many European and Arab nations, and the United States have expressed concern about the escalating tensions in the West Bank.

The Israeli army said on Friday that its soldiers were "operating against Hamas," mostly in the northern territories it has occupied since 1967—Jenin and Nablus. Throughout his Middle East tour, Blinken has argued for "humanitarian pauses" to safeguard people and facilitate assistance delivery in the heavily populated Gaza Strip, which is under attack. On Sunday night, he is scheduled to go to Ankara, Turkey.