Blinken Urges Israeli-Palestinian Calm, Renews US Push for Two-State Solution

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shuttled Tuesday between Israel and the West Bank, imploring both sides to defuse recent violence and work toward the long-held but elusive U.S. goal of creating a two-state solution.

Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah after earlier meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, whom he assured that the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security “remains ironclad.” Blinken promised $50 million in new economic assistance to Palestinians over the next two years, on top of $890 million already pledged, and 4G high-speed telecom service in the West Bank.