Blinken calls Palestinian President Abbas to discuss Israel-Gaza truce

AP , Saturday 22 May 2021

The Palestinian leader urged the Biden administration to pressure Israel to halt Israeli violence in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank

Blinken
File Photo: U..S Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference. May 20, 2021. AP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has received a phone call from U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken following the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers.

Abbas' office says the two discussed the latest developments in the call on Friday evening. The Palestinian leader urged the Biden administration to pressure Israel to halt Israeli violence in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The statement said Abbas appreciated U.S. efforts to ‘provide humanitarian aid and mobilize the international support necessary for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, in coordination with the Palestinian Authority’.

The U.S. State Department has said that Blinken would visit the region next week ``to discuss recovery efforts and working together to build better futures for Israelis and Palestinians'' in the wake of the truce. Blinken and Abbas are to meet during the visit.

The cease-fire was brokered by neighboring Egypt after the U.S. pressed Israel to wind down its campaign on Gaza.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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