Palestinian president calls on Blinken to urge Israel to stop unilateral measures in West Bank

Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure the Israeli government to stop its unilateral measures in the Palestinian territories.

An official statement sent to reporters said that Abbas received a phone call from Blinken, during which they discussed the latest developments “in the wake of the recent Israeli decisions that violate the signed agreements and international resolutions.”

Last week, the Israeli government decided to authorise nine settlement outposts that were illegally built up in the West Bank in response to a series of attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Abbas called on the US “to intervene quickly and effectively to put pressure on Israel to stop all these dangerous measures” to ensure the continued prospect of a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Blinken on Saturday confirmed that he would contact the Israeli government and that his administration would continue its efforts to stop unilateral Israeli actions.

Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967 and has since established settlements on it, a move considered a violation of international law and a major source of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The settlement issue is the most prominent aspect of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and one of the main reasons for halting the last direct peace negotiations between the two sides in 2014.

–IANS