In Palestine, Antony Blinken backs two-state solution

West Bank, January 31

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken moves to the West Bank on Tuesday, a day after calling for a halt to escalating violence and reaffirming Washington’s backing for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Blinken appealed for calm on both sides following last week’s killing by a Palestinian gunman of seven persons outside a synagogue in the worst such attack in the Jerusalem area for years, bringing the total of Israelis killed in attacks by Palestinians since 2022 to 33 with three Ukrainians also killed.

He will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders deeply disillusioned after months of raids by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank that have killed more than 200 Palestinians, including civilians as well as militant fighters, since 2022.

In January alone, 35 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.

Last week, the PA suspended its security cooperation agreement with Israel, when Israeli forces penetrated into a refugee camp in Jenin, setting off a gunfight in which 10 Palestinians died. — Reuters