Amidst his travels through Southwest Asia over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank today. The meeting reportedly was very short, lasting less than an hour, leading some commentators to conclude that there were harsh disagreements between the two. There was no statement or press release afterwards.
President Abbas reportedly told Blinken “there must be an immediate ceasefire to the war in Gaza,” according to Abbas’s spokesperson. The State Department’s readout of the meeting repeated the same points that have been uttered repeatedly by the Biden administration, though they have little meaning in the real world. Blinken “reaffirmed the U.S. commitment” for humanitarian aid to Gaza and “to advancing equal measures of dignity and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” including the “establishment of a Palestinian state.” He also discussed “the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible.”
Blinken also met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and got a similar earful. According to the Jordan Times, King Abdullah called for an end to the war on Gaza and a humanitarian truce to ensure the sustainable delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, and the unimpeded work of international humanitarian agencies. He also called for stepping up international efforts to deliver food, water, medicine and fuel to Gaza without interruption, and support relief organizations in Gaza.
King Abdullah said that the only way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is by working towards a political settlement in line with a two-state solution, and warned that military solutions will not succeed, the Times further reported. The King also reaffirmed Jordan’s ongoing support for the Palestinian people in gaining their legitimate rights to establish a sovereign and independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The King also met separately with the five Arab foreign ministers with whom he reaffirmed the importance that Arab nations work together to prevent further dangerous escalations in Gaza. Abdullah noted that Arab states have the responsibility of pushing the international community and world powers to take action and protect civilians. Reiterating Jordan’s denunciation of the massacres of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, he warned that the continuation of the war would lead to an explosion of the situation in the region.
