U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks in the briefing room of the State Department in Washington, U.S. January 7, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that the US is committed to reopening the Jerusalem consulate, a readout of the call published by Wafa, the PA’s official news agency, claimed.

The top US diplomat also stressed that the Biden administration rejects settlement activity in the West Bank and settler violence against Palestinians, as well as home demolitions and evictions, the agency said.

“Secretary Blinken conveyed President Biden’s greetings to President Abbas and his affirmation of the US commitment to the two-state solution and the importance of creating a political horizon,” the Wafa recap read.

Abbas told Blinken of the importance of “ending the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine,” while ticking off a list of other grievances against the Jewish state.

The PA president also stressed the need “to stop the unilateral Israeli practices that undermine the two-state solution.”

A statement Monday afternoon from State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Blinken and Abbas discussed the US relationship with the Palestinian Authority, the need to improve quality of life for Palestinians, and the need for reform at the PA.

“Secretary Blinken reiterated that Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live safely and securely, and enjoy equal measures of security, freedom, and prosperity, and reaffirmed the US administration’s commitment to a two-state solution,” the statement said.

In a separate development, the State Department announced on Monday that the US facilitated the delivery of more than 200,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses to the West Bank and Gaza as part of the Covax initiative which aims to ensure equitable vaccine distribution directed by the Gavi vaccine alliance.