Sunday’s meeting was Mr Blinken’s second with Mr Abbas since the latest escalation of violence. Read more at straitstimes.com.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a tour of the region amid spiralling tensions over Israel's war with Hamas.
Mr Abbas told Mr Blinken there should be an immediate ceasefire and that aid should be allowed into Gaza, according to spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh. As well as seeking to ensure the conflict does not spread in the region, Mr Blinken is trying to kick-start discussions on how Gaza could be governed after the complete destruction of Hamas that Israel says is its aim.
Mr Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has seen its popularity shrivel amid allegations of graft, incompetence and widely hated security cooperation arrangements with Israel.The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan said on Saturday after meeting Mr Blinken that it was premature to talk about the future of Gaza.
It was not announced ahead of time and Reuters agreed not to publish details of the trip until it was complete due to security concerns. They would not have inside knowledge of Israel’s nuclear capabilities - which it does not publicly acknowledge - or the power to activate them.Evacuations of injured Gazans and foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing to Egypt were meanwhile suspended since Saturday, two Egyptian security sources and a medical source told Reuters.