Anthony Blinken will meet today with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, an Israeli newspaper writes

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, writes the Israeli newspaper “Times of Israel”, quoted by DPA.

This will be Blinken’s first visit to the West Bank since the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, began.

On October 7, Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on the Jewish state, an attack that prompted Israel to retaliate by taking military action against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Times of Israel cited an unnamed Palestinian official. According to the Israeli publication, Blinken will discuss with Abbas the future of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.

The newspaper recalled that earlier this week, at a hearing in the US Congress, Blinken said that “at some stage it will be most sensible for a revitalized and effective Palestinian Authority to take over the administration of the Gaza Strip, bearing the ultimate responsibility for security ” in the enclave.

Palestinian President Abbas says Blinken’s proposal can only be implemented with a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most members of the current Israeli government reject such an option, as they see it as a threat to the Jewish state.

Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting the Fatah movement led by Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah currently controls only the Palestinian areas of the West Bank.