“Concrete steps”
Blinken pledges US support for Palestinian state
January 10, 2024, 4:36 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated during talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah: The US supports “concrete steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state. At the same time he insists on an old condition.
During his trip to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged US support for “concrete steps” towards a Palestinian state at a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s long-standing position that a Palestinian state must exist alongside Israel, “with both living in security and peace,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. During a visit to Lebanon, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on the Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel to exercise “maximum military restraint” in order to prevent a conflagration in the region.
Blinken’s car convoy had arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where dozens of demonstrators held signs with slogans such as “Stop the genocide” against Palestinians and “Blinken, you are not welcome.” Abbas described the Gaza Strip as an “essential part of the Palestinian state,” according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. “It is not possible to accept or respond to the plans of the occupying authorities to separate it or cut off part of it,” Abbas told Blinken.
The Palestinian president also addressed “efforts to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” according to Wafa. Abbas was later expected to speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on a “push for an immediate ceasefire.” Meanwhile, in Beirut, Baerbock called on the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia and Israel not to further escalate their conflict.
Surprising visit to the Gulf Emirate of Bahrain
An expansion of the conflict “would be a catastrophe for the two countries,” said Baerbock in the Lebanese capital, where she announced 15 million euros in additional German support for the Lebanese army so that it could better fulfill its task of securing the border region with Israel. The regular army must be able to exercise “effective control” over the area in order to “contain armed militias and terrorist organizations.” Baerbock’s Middle East trip, which began on Sunday, ended with the visit to Beirut – her fourth since the start of the Gaza war on October 7th between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas.
It is also Blinken’s fourth trip to the Middle East since the beginning of the war. His journey has already included stages in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. According to a US State Department representative, Blinken will make a surprise visit to the Gulf emirate of Bahrain this Wednesday to speak with the local King Hamad about avoiding regional escalation. Bahrain is a US partner and member of the international coalition to secure maritime trade in the Red Sea against missile and drone attacks by the pro-Iranian Houthi militia in Yemen.
According to British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, the Houthis launched their “largest attack” to date in the Red Sea on Tuesday. According to US information, the armed forces of the USA and Great Britain shot down 18 drones and three missiles over the sea. Since the start of the Gaza war, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships off the coast of Yemen.
Further fighting in the center of Maghasi
On October 7th, hundreds of fighters from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA, entered Israel and committed atrocities, mostly against civilians. According to Israeli figures, 1,140 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Israel then declared war on Hamas and has been massively attacking the Gaza Strip ever since. According to Hamas figures that cannot be independently verified, more than 23,350 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip so far. Aid organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about the situation of the civilian population in the coastal area.
During his trip, Blinken underlined the US’s continued support for its ally Israel, but at the same time called for the suffering to be reduced. Meanwhile, fighting continued in the Maghasi area in the center and in the Khan Yunis area in the south of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said soldiers found 15 tunnel shafts as well as rocket launchers, drones and explosives and destroyed machinery used to make rockets fired at Israel.