Abbas says US administration ‘must turn talk into action’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned American “silence” on Tuesday and insisted that the US administration “must turn its talk into action,” Wafa news agency has reported.

Abbas made his comments during a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as frustration boils over in Ramallah about the Biden administration’s failure to fulfil its pledge to roll back measures taken by former President Donald Trump.

“The administration must turn its talk into action, rather than making do with this policy of condemnation, denunciation and silence regarding these unilateral Israeli measures,” Abbas told Blinken. He repeated the PA’s demands to see the US Consulate in Jerusalem reopened, as well as for the US to provide greater legitimacy to the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

“The PLO must be removed from the American ‘terrorist’ list, and the PLO office in Washington must be reopened, given that [the US] is a full, responsible partner in the peace process,” Wafa reported Abbas as telling Blinken.

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“The Secretary spoke with [President] Abbas regarding the importance of Israelis and Palestinians working to maintain calm and de-escalate tensions,” said the US Department of State on its website. “He emphasised the importance of the US-Palestinian relationship, and the administration’s support for a negotiated two-state solution.”

Blinken also apparently “underscored the importance of concluding the investigations into the death of Palestinian-American Shireen Abu Akleh.” The Al Jazeera journalist was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper on 11 May while covering Israel’s military incursion at Jenin refugee camp.