RAMALLAH, West Bank – U.S. 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 people 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, according to Reuters.
In January alone, 35 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, in the bloodiest month since 2015, while officials say attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers have also increased.
Last week, the PA suspended its security cooperation agreement with Israel after the largest raid in years, when Israeli forces penetrated deep into the refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, setting off a gunfight in which 10 Palestinians died.
