US’ Blinken meets Palestinian president in Ramallah

By Awad Rajoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The visit is the last leg in Blinken’s regional tour that also included Israel and Egypt.

The top US diplomat is accompanied by a host of American officials during the visit, including George Noll, head of the Palestinian Affairs Unit at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, Hady Amr, Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs, and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

Ahead of Blinken's arrival, the Palestinian news agency Wafa published images of Abbas while meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Jordanian intelligence director, Ahmad Hatuqai.

The broadcaster, however, did not provide any details about the content of Abbas’ meeting with the intelligence officials.

On Monday, Blinken called on Israel and the Palestinian side “to take steps to calm tensions rather than inflame them.”

Blinken’s visit comes amid rising violence in the Palestinian territories following an Israeli military operation in Jenin city that left at least 10 Palestinians dead on Thursday. In the wake of the operation, two shootings in Jerusalem claimed the lives of seven Israelis.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report.