Blinken affirms that Abbas is committed to reforming the Palestinian Authority

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, assured this Wednesday that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas is “committed” to reforming the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to “take responsibility for Gaza” and unify it with the West Bank under one leadership.

“In terms of reforming the Palestinian Authority, I don't want to speak for President Abbas, but I think what I take away from this meeting is that he is committed to it and very prepared to move forward,” Blinken said from Bahrain and after holding a meeting with the Palestinian in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The American indicated that he spoke with Abbas about “the importance” of reforming the ANP “so that it can assume responsibility in Gaza and so that Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited under Palestinian leadership”, something that he assured is also being addressed among other Arab leaders in the Middle East.

“President Abbas made it clear to me that he is willing to move forward and participate in all of these efforts,” Blinken said in statements to the press.

(Also read: Antony Blinken returns to Israel to prevent a spread of the war in Gaza)

In addition, He indicated that during his tour of the Middle East this week he spoke with different leaders “the day after” in Gaza, as well as the work necessary for the Palestinian enclave to “recover”, an effort that the countries of the region “are clearly willing to make.”

In this sense, he noted that their conversations also focused on efforts to “integrate the region and do so in a way that guarantees Israel's security and also provides a path for the Palestinians to have their own state.”

“It is clear that the countries in the region have the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, but also to find a better path forward for the region as a whole and in particular for the Palestinians and Israelis,” said Blinken, who assured that there is “a real sense of urgency” on this issue.

(Also: Return or not to the southern kibbutz: the hard decision of the evacuees in Israel)

The ANP has no control over the Gaza Strip, which has been de facto governed by the Islamist group Hamas since 2007.

However, the US and part of the international community advocate the return of the ANP to the Strip, when the war ends, to avoid the return of Hamas or other extremist groups to power, but also colonization by Israel. , which dismantled its last settlements inside the enclave in 2005.

Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not seem willing to cede control to the ANP and insists that Israel must maintain control of security in the Palestinian enclave.

EFE