US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a high-security surprise visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank Sunday, meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, according to photographs released by the Palestinian Authority.
The top US diplomat met with Abbas in Ramallah as global concern grows over rising violence in the occupied territory in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since October 7.
The war erupted after Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
Since the outbreak of the war, which has seen nearly 9,500 killed in Israel’s retaliatory land, air and sea assault on Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry, Blinken has made three trips to Israel and also visited numerous other Arab nations.