West Bank violence: Blinken voices sorrow for 'innocent' Palestinians killed
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday expressed his sorrow for "innocent" Palestinians killed in a spike of violence in the occupied West Bank, after meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Washington's top diplomat met Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the final stop on a Middle East tour aimed at curbing the bloodshed, following meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet minister.
Both sides are reeling from a new wave of violence. A Palestinian shot dead seven people in an Israeli settlement in annexed east Jerusalem on Friday, a day after the deadliest army raid in years in the West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives.
This month the conflict has killed 35 Palestinian adults and children -- including attackers, militants and civilians -- as well as the six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian, killed on Friday.
Speaking in Ramallah, Blinken expressed his "sorrow for the innocent Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives in escalating violence over the last year".
"Palestinians and Israelis alike are experiencing growing insecurity, growing fear in their homes, in their communities and in their places of worship," said Blinken.
The US envoy's remarks alongside the Palestinian leader came a day after he met with Netanyahu, when he urged both sides to take "urgent steps" to calm tensions.
Blinken on Monday also condemned Palestinians "who celebrate... acts of terrorism that take innocent lives," in the wake of the shooting in east Jerusalem.
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