Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas charged that “America is occupying Palestine” just as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was reportedly planning to visit Israel and the West Bank.
_x000D_“When Israel says that it is celebrating its independence day, it has gained independence from whom?,” he said during a public speech in Ramallah.
_x000D_“Who was occupying the State of Israel so that it celebrates the anniversary of its freedom from this occupation, this is a big lie.”
_x000D_He noted the religious tensions in Israel, pointing to the attack against the Yom Kippur scuffle that broke out in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square when activists tried to enforce gender-segregated prayer.
_x000D_His attack on the Biden administration and Israel comes amid work on a security arrangement between Washington and Riyadh, including an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal and a possible interim agreement with the Palestinians.
_x000D_The United States is pushing to include Palestinian issues in the deal and Blinken’s potential trip is seen in part as an opportunity to advance that possibility.
