Live Update
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, November 5, 2023
Blinken meets Palestinian Authority President Abbas in West Bank visit

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the West Bank city of Ramallah on November, 5, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and terror group Hamas. (Photo by PPO / AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made a high-security, previously unannounced visit to the West Bank, meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to photographs released by the PA.
The top US diplomat met with Abbas in Ramallah as global concern grows over rising violence in the West Bank in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza since the terror group’s October 7 massacres.
Blinken has visited Israel three times since the start of the war, but this is his first trip to the West Bank.
The plan to hold the meeting was first reported by The Times of Israel yesterday.