Blinken says Israel needs to help Palestinian Authority

DAVOS, Switzerland — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Wednesday on Israel to help rather than hinder the Palestinian Authority, saying that Israel's long-term security was at stake.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blinken renewed his call for a "pathway to a Palestinian state" even as Washington backs Israel's Gaza campaign launched in response to the October 7 Hamas surprise attack.

"You're not going to get the genuine security you need absent that. And, of course, to that end as well, a stronger, reformed Palestinian Authority that can more effectively deliver for its own people has to be part of the equation," Blinken said.

An effective Palestinian Authority can only operate "with the support, with the help, of Israel, not with its active opposition", Blinken said.

"Even the most effective Authority is going to have a lot of trouble if it's got the active opposition of any Israeli government," he said.

The United States has backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to eradicate Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, but has called for the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank, gradually to take over control in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has long denounced the Palestinian Authority and been sceptical of a Palestinian state.

In one point of contention, the United States has been pressing Israel to release tax revenue that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Blinken said that the Palestinian Authority was working to address fundamental issues and improving transparency.

While not directly answering a question about Netanyahu’s hard-right government, Blinken noted that critics in the past have accused the Palestinians of not being ready to accept a two-state solution.

“The question now is, is Israeli society prepared to engage on these questions? Is it prepared to have that mindset?” he said.

At least 24,448 Palestinians, about 70 per cent of them women, young children and adolescents, have been killed in Israeli bombardments and ground assaults, according to the Gaza health ministry’s latest figures.