Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas blames Israel for recent surge in violence as he meets US Secretary of State Blinken

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday blamed Israel for a sharp escalation of violence in the West Bank as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged calm on both sides and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to a two-state solution. In a statement, Abbas called for “the complete cessation of unilateral  Israeli actions, which violate the signed agreements and international law.” “We are now ready to work with the US administration and the international community to restore political dialogue in order to end the  Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added. Shooting at Jerusalem synagogue after Jenin raid Meanwhile, after meeting Abbas in Ramallah, Blinken  expressed “condolences and sorrow for the innocent Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives in escalating violence over the last year”. A Palestinian gunman on Friday killed seven people outside a synagogue in a settler neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, and another attack followed on Saturday. Ten Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid Thursday on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, in one of the deadliest such operations in a long time. Israel said it was targeting Islamic Jihad militants and later hit sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire. Blinken also warned Israeli and Palestinian leaders against any moves that make a two-state solution to the conflict “more difficult”. Addressing Israel’s new hardline right-wing government, whose leader and ministers he met during his visit, Blinken said that list includes “settlement expansion, the legalisation of outposts, demolitions and evictions”. The government led by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly backs expanding the Jewish settler presence across the West Bank. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.