US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas discussed the “urgent need for measures to improve the security and freedom of Palestinians in the West Bank” during their meeting earlier today in Ramallah.

Blinken also referred to US efforts to speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and condemned Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which has increased significantly since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Blinken told Abbas that the US “will continue to insist on full accountability for those responsible,” the State Department statement added.

“The Secretary of State reiterated that the United States remains committed to promoting tangible steps for a Palestinian state,” the statement added.

According to the official Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa, Abbas stressed the need to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, free civilians from shelling and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip.

Abbas also reportedly handed Blinken a “comprehensive dossier documenting Israeli occupation crime in Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem.” He urges Blinken to pressure the Israeli government to end the “repressive measures” they have allegedly adopted against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and to end the deportation of Palestinians to the West Bank, particularly the Jordan Valley.