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US Secretary of State blinking with Israel's President Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: Alex Brandon / dpa
The US wants to reopen its consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
This was announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Ramallah in the West Bank.
Blinken initially did not give an exact date for the commissioning of the branch.
The consulate in Jerusalem had served as US agency for the Palestinians since the Oslo peace accord in the 1990s.
It was closed in March 2019 under the then US President Donald Trump, despite sharp international criticism, and incorporated into the US embassy.
Trump had previously moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Blinken also promised the Palestinians $ 75 million in aid.
"I am here to underline the US commitment to rebuilding relations with the Palestinian Authority and the people of Palestine," Blinken said at a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinians and Israelis deserve security, freedom, opportunity and dignity alike, Blinken said.
One wants to "tackle the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza and begin with the reconstruction."
More than 250 people were killed, most of them Palestinians, in the 11-day conflict between militant Palestinian organizations and the Israeli military.
A ceasefire agreed last Friday has been held so far, but the security situation remains tense.
Palestinians killed in police operation in Ramallah
On Tuesday night, a young Palestinian was killed in a raid in the West Bank.
According to Palestinian sources, the man was shot dead by Israeli security forces while he was traveling in a vehicle.
An Israeli spokesman, however, said that when terrorist activists were attempted to be arrested in Ramallah, one of the accomplices was shot dead by a special police force.
fek / AFP / AP