Blinken speaks with Lapid, Abbas about Israel-Palestinian issues

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday and discussed with him Israeli-Palestinian issues, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Blinken also spoke separately with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the same topic, the US State Department said.

In his call with Lapid, Blinken talked of “the strong US-Israel relationship and shared challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine as well as the threats posed by Iran,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

“Blinken reiterated the Administration’s steadfast commitment to Israel’s security,” it said.

In Washington, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a press briefing that Blinken had called Abbas as part of efforts to “prioritize re-engagement with the Palestinian people and Palestinian Authority.”

Price said there was a discussion on “the need to improve quality of life for the Palestinian people in tangible ways” and “the need for reform within the Palestinian Authority.”

Blinken also stressed to Abbas that US policy remains “that Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live with equal measures of security, freedom, prosperity, and crucially, dignity.”

A readout of the phone call from Abbas’s office did not mention the call for reform, according to a report from the Reuters news agency, and said that Abbas had told Blinken that Israel must “stop the abuse of prisoners” and the “withholding of taxes.”

Since 2018 Israel has held back some tax funds it collects for the Palestinian Authority to penalize it for payments to imprisoned terrorists and the families of dead attackers. The sums amount to hundreds of millions of shekels, but Israel has found other ways of nonetheless transferring funds to the cash-strapped PA.

At the State Department press briefing, Price was asked to comment on an Amnesty International report set to be released Tuesday that labels Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as “apartheid.”

Price said “we’ll reserve official comments until we have an opportunity to see it,” but added, “that is not language that we have used nor would we ever use.”

Regarding the death of an elderly US-Palestinian citizen last month while in Israeli custody, which is being probed by Israel’s Military Police and has already seen two officer officers removed from their positions, Price said only that “we continue to support an investigation that is thorough and comprehensive into the circumstances of the incident, and we welcome receiving additional information as soon as possible.”

The spokesperson declined to comment on whether Blinken’s call with Abbas also covered the reopening of the US Consulate General in Jerusalem, an issue that is hampering Washington’s efforts to repair ties with the Palestinians, damaged under the Trump administration.

The Biden administration has asserted that the US plans to reopen the consulate that historically served as the de facto mission to the Palestinians, but was shuttered by former president Donald Trump in 2019. Trump had already angered the Palestinians by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that year, prompting the Ramallah-based PA to refuse to meet with US officials.

However, Washington has held off on reopening the site, reportedly due to pressure from Israel.

Earlier this month Palestinian officials told The Times of Israel that the PA will refuse US demands for reforms unless Washington follows through on its own commitments to fully restore ties with Ramallah, including reopening the consulate.