The Abbas, Blinken meeting was tense, ‘raised voices and disagreements’ reported

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Talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday were tense, according to Arabic media reports.

Blinken said the Palestinian Authority was committed to playing a role in administering Gaza and implementing internal reforms.

Abbas for his part pushed back, saying the US has to stop Israeli aggression in Gaza.

The bloodiest-ever Gaza war started by the October 7 Hamas attack has raged on for more than three months and killed over 23,000 people in the besieged Palestinian territory, according to its health ministry.

The United Nations estimates 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced inside the territory that had already endured years of blockade and poverty before the war.

Global concern has flared over Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, and Blinken — while voicing continued US support for top regional ally Israel — has urged steps to reduce the suffering.

Dire shortages brought by an Israeli siege mean the “daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly children, is far too high,” Blinken said last Tuesday after his talks with PM Netanyahu.

Washington has floated a post-war scenario in which a reformed Palestinian Authority governs Gaza as well as towns and cities in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

FRANCE 24/ Ya Libnan, News Agencies

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