Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel on Tuesday for a sharp escalation of violence in the West Bank as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged calm on both sides and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to a two state solution.
Calling for "the complete cessation of unilateral Israeli actions, which violate the signed agreements and international law", Abbas reiterated the Palestinians' longstanding demand for Israel to end its occupation.
"We are now ready to work with the U.S. 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 said in a statement.
Blinken, for his part, speaking in Ramallah, expressed his "sorrow for the innocent Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives in escalating violence over the last year".
The year 2022 was the deadliest in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking fatalities in the occupied territory in 2005.
"Palestinians and Israelis alike are experiencing growing insecurity, growing fear in their homes, in their communities and in their places of worship," said Blinken.
