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Blinken tells Abbas US backs ‘tangible steps’ for Palestinian state as Israel keeps bombing Gaza

  • Blinken reiterated Washington’s long-standing position that a Palestinian state must stand alongside Israel, ‘with both living in peace and security’
  • The visit came a day after talks with Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s war with Hamas, regional tensions and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East. Photo: Pool via Reuters

The Israeli army kept bombing the Gaza Strip and fighting Hamas militants on Wednesday as US top diplomat Antony Blinken told Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday that Washington supports “tangible steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state.

The military said it killed dozens of “terrorists” and hit another 150 targets in Hamas-run Gaza, where the health ministry said 147 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours.

Blinken reiterated Washington’s long-standing position that a Palestinian state must stand alongside Israel, “with both living in peace and security”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Palestinian statehood was anticipated following the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, but talks have been moribund for years.

Abbas told Blinken that Gaza is integral to Palestinian statehood hopes and should not be cut off as a result of Israel’s war with Hamas, an official statement said.

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