Palestinian ambassador to UK reveals details of ‘tense’ Abbas-Blinken meeting

The Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Dr Husam Zomlot, has described the meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “tense”.

“The president demanded an immediate ceasefire to the atrocious, murderous assault by Israel on our civilians and people,” Zomlot told CBS News. “He stressed that this is not a war against Hamas. It’s clear since it started, it’s a war against our people, not only in Gaza, by the way, but also in the West Bank.”

The ambassador criticised the US role, describing it as unfair, with its default bias towards Israel, its rejection of a ceasefire, and its preference for what Washington calls a “humanitarian pause.”

Such a “pause,” said Zomlot, is simply irresponsible. “Pauses of crimes against humanity? So, you are going to pause for six hours killing our children, and then resume killing the children?”

Abbas apparently told Blinken, “We meet again in extremely difficult circumstances, and there are no words to describe the war of genocide and destruction to which our Palestinian people are being subjected to in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli war machine, without regard for the rules of international law. How one can remain silent about the killing of ten thousand Palestinians, including four thousand children, and tens of thousands of wounded, along with the destruction of infrastructure, hospitals, shelters and water tanks?”

The Palestinian President warned against the displacement of the Palestinian people outside Gaza, the West Bank or Jerusalem, saying that this is firmly rejected.

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“What is happening in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem is no less heinous, with killings and assaults on land, people and holy sites by the Israeli occupation forces and extremist settlers, who are committing crimes of ethnic cleansing, racial discrimination and embezzlement of Palestinian people’s funds,” added Abbas. He said that he holds Israel fully responsible for what is happening.

“Military solutions will not bring security to Israelis. We demand that you stop them from committing these crimes immediately. Security and peace are achieved by ending the Israeli occupation of the land of the state of Palestine, with its capital, East Jerusalem, on the 1967 borders.”

In closing, Abbas is reported to have told the US Secretary of State that, “The Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine, and we will bear our full responsibilities within the framework of a comprehensive political solution for both the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”

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