US Secretary of State visits West Bank, Israel

AFP reported that US Secretary of State Blinken on November 30 visited the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, one of the areas settled by Palestinians and considered to be the territory of a "future state". He met with President Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority which controls part of the West Bank.

Ngoại trưởng Mỹ đến Bờ Tây, Israel - Tây Ban Nha tiếp tục căng thẳng - Ảnh 1. — Mr. Blinken and Mr. Abbas in the West Bank on November 30.

Mr Blinken arrived at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah in an armored vehicle, according to AFP. Earlier in the day, he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

According to The Times of Israel , Prime Minister Netanyahu said he told the top US diplomat that he "swore to destroy Hamas" and "nothing can stop us." Netanyahu also stressed that the war in Gaza would continue until Israel repatriated all hostages, defeated Hamas and guaranteed there would be no more similar threats from Gaza.

During a meeting with Mr. Herzog, Mr. Blinken said that the temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas had brought results and the US hoped this would continue, according to Reuters.

The meetings took place the same day two Palestinians opened fire at a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem during rush hour, killing at least three people and wounding eight others, according to Israeli police. Mr. Blinken and Israeli leaders condemned the attack.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, which came shortly after it and Israel agreed to extend a ceasefire for another day to allow for a further exchange of hostages and prisoners. According to Hamas, the attack was "a natural response to the unprecedented crimes committed by the occupying forces (Israel)".

In another development, relations between Israel and Spain continue to be strained due to the war in Gaza. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on November 30 that the European Union (EU) should recognize the state of Palestine because this would help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "stabilize" the region.

"It is clear that we have to find a political solution to end this crisis and in my opinion this solution requires the recognition of the Palestinian state," Sanchez said in an interview with Spanish television station TVE, according to AFP.

The leader also said that based on the figures on civilian casualties in Gaza, he suspected that Israel was not respecting international humanitarian law and reaffirmed that Israel's military action was unacceptable.

Similar comments by Mr Sanchez and his Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo at the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing last week angered Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said such statements echoed “false claims” and “fuelled terrorism”. Mr Cohen later said he had summoned the ambassadors of both countries.

Reuters reported that Israel summoned the Spanish ambassador again on November 30 over Mr. Sanchez's latest public statements.

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