Israel-Gaza conflict: US moves to rebuild relations with Palestinians
The US will seek to rebuild its relations with the Palestinians by reopening its consulate in Jerusalem and providing aid to help rebuild Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.
After meeting President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Blinken stressed the need to shore up the truce that ended the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.
But he vowed to ensure the militant group that rules Gaza did not benefit.
He also reassured Israel of "America's ironclad commitment" to its security.
More than 250 people were killed, the vast majority of them in Gaza, in 11 days of fierce fighting that ended on Friday with an Egyptian-brokered truce.
The violence came after weeks of spiralling Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.
Hamas began firing rockets into Israel after warning it to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes from Israel on Gaza targets.
US pledges millions to rebuild Gaza
Mr Blinken travelled to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday afternoon to hold talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"I am here to underscore the commitment of the United States to rebuilding a relationship with the Palestinian Authority and with the Palestinian people, a relationship built on mutual respect and also a shared conviction that Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve equal measures of freedom, security, opportunity, and dignity," he told a joint news conference.
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