Blinken and Abbas Held Tense Meeting

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed

US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, advised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Wednesday, to implement governance reforms, while Mahmoud Abbas stressed Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state.
The Palestinian side asked Blinken to pressure the release of Palestinian tax funds.
The Palestinians told Blinken, “If you do not have the ability to release funds, how will you have the ability to put pressure on Israel and achieve peace and a Palestinian state?!”
Blinken again called for reforms in the Palestinian Authority and its security services, and the Palestinian side responded by saying, “You must reform yourselves and your policy toward the Palestinian issue.”
Following the meeting, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken affirmed Washington’s firm position on the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel “and living in peace and security.”
For his part, Mahmoud Abbas warned of the seriousness of the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, or the West Bank, including Jerusalem, which was revealed by statements issued by Israeli ministers and officials, which call for the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their land.
Abbas affirmed his complete rejection of the displacement of any Palestinian citizen, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, saying” we will not allow it to happen”.
Abbas stressed the need to release Palestinian clearance funds immediately “because their detention violates agreements and international law,” according to what our correspondent reported.
He also stressed that the Gaza Strip has priority, “and our people, who fall under the responsibility of the State of Palestine and its administration, will not be abandoned.”