US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to support the Palestinian Authority instead of obstructing it.
Speaking on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to help rather than hinder the Palestinian Authority, saying that Israel’s long-term security was at stake.
Blinken renewed his call for a “pathway to a Palestinian state” even as Washington backs Israel’s Gaza campaign launched in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
“You’re not going to get the genuine security you need absent that. And, of course, to that end as well, a stronger, reformed Palestinian Authority that can more effectively deliver for its own people have to be part of the equation,” Blinken said.
An effective Palestinian Authority can only operate “with the support, with the help, of Israel, not with its active opposition,” Blinken said.
The United States has backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to eradicate Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, but has called for the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank, gradually to take over control in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu has long denounced the Palestinian Authority and been skeptical of a Palestinian state.
In one point of contention, the United States has been pressing Israel to release tax revenue that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Blinken said that the Palestinian Authority was working to address fundamental issues including eliminating corruption and improving transparency, which “they can’t deliver on their own without partnership with Israel.”
While not directly answering a question about Netanyahu’s hard-right government, Blinken noted that critics in the past have accused the Palestinians of not being ready to accept a two-state solution.
Katrine Dige Houmøller, with AFP
