Antony Blinken ‘committed’ to establishment of Palestinian state in West Bank visit – as Hamas claims dozens killed in Gaza camp strike
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he is committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state in an unannounced visit to the West Bank – as Hamas claims Israel struck a refugee camp in Gaza.
Continuing his tour of the region, Mr Blinken met the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, in the city of Ramallah on Sunday.
Mr Abbas demanded an “immediate ceasefire” to allow humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which Israel continues to bombard in response to Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians on 7 October.
“We demand that you stop them from committing these crimes immediately,” Mr Abbas told Mr Blinken, according to a spokesperson.
Follow live: More than 100 attacks on health facilities in Gaza
It comes as Hamas, which has run Gaza independently of the Palestinian Authority since 2007, claimed on Sunday that an Israeli airstrike killed at least 47 people in the Maghazi refugee camp.
Mr Blinken said the US is committed to getting aid into Gaza and restoring essential services there, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout of the meeting.
“The secretary also expressed the commitment of the United States to working toward the realisation of the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he added.
Other key developments:
• Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf’s parents-in-law have arrived in Scotland after fleeing Gaza;
• Israeli minister reportedly suspended after suggesting atomic bomb on Gaza is an option;
• Boris Johnson meets Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem to “express solidarity”;
• Lebanon’s ambassador to the UK claims Israel has used white phosphorus in southern Lebanon.
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of a blast at Maghazi refugee camp
Violence has continued in the West Bank, with 121 Palestinians killed there since the war in Gaza began, according to UN figures.
About 200 people gathered in Ramallah on Sunday to protest Mr Blinken’s arrival, which follows visits to Israel and Jordan.
Mr Blinken and Mr Abbas “discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible”, Mr Miller said.
Mr Blinken has already suggested an “effective and revitalised Palestinian Authority” would make the most sense to ultimately run Gaza.
He repeated his belief on Sunday, telling Mr Abbas the Palestinian Authority should play a central role in what comes next in the Gaza Strip, according to a senior State Department official.
The official added: “[The] future of Gaza was not the focus of the meeting but the Palestinian Authority seemed willing to play a role.”
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Sky News enters Gaza
Mr Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has seen its popularity drop amid allegations of incompetence and unpopular security arrangements with Israel.
It is unclear who would succeed Mr Abbas, 87, who is a staunch opponent of Hamas.
Demonstration in Turkey after global protests
As Mr Blinken headed to Turkey for talks over Gaza on Sunday afternoon, police fired tear gas and water cannon at pro-Palestine protesters near a US air base, according to Turkish media.
According to the Karar newspaper and other outlets, the intervention came as demonstrators tried to cross fields to enter the base at Incirlik, in southern Turkey.
Protesters were seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds as scuffles broke out.
People clashed with riot police in Turkey. Pic: AP
Hundreds of vehicles arrived in Incirlik on Sunday afternoon for the protest, which was the culmination of a convoy that set off on a 940-kilometre (585-mile) journey from Istanbul on Friday.
The demonstration was organised by the IHH aid group, which Israel has accused of links to Hamas, and came just hours before Mr Blinken was due to arrive in the country.
Israel’s siege of Gaza has also stirred global alarm at humanitarian conditions, with pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting around the world on Saturday.
Demonstrations were held in cities including London, Berlin, Paris, Istanbul and Jakarta, with hundreds of thousands calling for a ceasefire.
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Protests were held around the world
There was also a protest in Washington to denounce President Biden’s war policy and demand a ceasefire.
The Hamas-run health ministry has said 21 Palestinians from the same family were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight.
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It said in a post on its Facebook page that they belonged to the family of Abu Hasira and that the strike targeted a house that was “full of women and children”.
Sky News has not independently verified the claim.
World
Israel says it will screen October 7 attacks to Greta Thunberg and other activists after Gaza-bound aid boat ‘diverted’
The Israeli military will show Greta Thunberg and other activists footage of the 7 October attacks after a Gaza-bound aid boat was diverted to Israel, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Early on Monday, the Israeli foreign ministry said that the British-flagged yacht Madleen – operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) – “is safely making its way to the shores of Israel”.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry added, sharing footage of the activists being handed sandwiches and water.
In a statement via his spokesperson, defence minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to screen footage of the 7 October attacks for those aboard when they arrive at Ashdod Port.
Greta Thunberg was ‘safe and in good spirits’ while en route to Israel, the foreign ministry said. Pic: Israel Foreign Ministry
“Antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-supporting friends should see exactly what the Hamas terrorist organisation – which they came to support and act on behalf of – truly is,” he said.
“They should see the atrocities committed against women, the elderly, and children, and understand whom Israel is fighting to defend itself.”
He then added, “I commend the IDF for its swift and safe takeover” of the vessel, and said the Israeli military “will continue its just and moral fight against the Hamas murderers until their defeat, the release of all hostages, and the full restoration of Israel’s security”.
Ms Thunberg and other activists after their boat was diverted to Israel. Pic: Israel Foreign Ministry
Israel’s foreign ministry said earlier that those aboard the Madleen “are expected to return to their home countries,” and that the humanitarian aid aboard the ship would be transferred to Gaza through established channels.
Ms Thunberg was “safe and in good spirits” while en route to Israel, it added, calling the vessel “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities'”.
The FFC claimed the passengers on the yacht had been “kidnapped by Israeli forces” and released pre-recorded messages from them after previously saying that the “Israeli army had boarded” the vessel.
Climate campaigner Ms Thunberg, 22, was one of a dozen activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily on 1 May on a mission aiming to break Israel’s sea blockade.
Ms Thunberg pictured in a pre-recorded video, released after the Madleen was diverted to Israel. Pic: FFC
The climate campaigner aboard the Madleen on 2 June. Pic: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Reuters
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, who is of Palestinian descent, was also on the boat.
She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israel’s policies towards Palestinians.
Ms Hassan wrote on X as the FFC’s yacht was allegedly surrounded by other vessels: “The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am.”
The diversion of the Madleen came after Mr Katz said that he had instructed the IDF to prevent the vessel from reaching the shore and to “take whatever measures necessary”.
The Madleen was heading for Gaza
Addressing Ms Thunberg and the other activists on Sunday, he said: “You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.”
Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month after a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas and preventing the group from importing arms.
But humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless there is an end to the blockade and the 20-month war, which began after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign.
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Why is Greta sailing to Gaza?
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
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Francesca Albanese, United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, also urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.
She said on social media: “Madleen’s journey may have ended, but the mission isn’t over.
“Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza.”
World
Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay in ‘critical condition’ after attempted assassination – as 15-year-old suspect arrested
A 15 year-old-boy has been arrested after a Colombian senator running to be the country’s next president was shot and “critically” injured at a campaign rally in Bogota, authorities have said.
Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was targeted during the campaign event in a park in the Fontibon area of the Colombian capital, according to the Attorney General’s office.
He suffered two gunshot wounds when armed assailants shot him from behind and appeared to be bleeding from his head as he was helped by aides and people in the crowd, in a video posted on social media.
According to a medical report at the Santa Fe Foundation hospital, he was admitted there in a “critical condition” and is still undergoing a “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure”.
Opposition senator Miguel Uribe Turbay on 13 May. Pic: AP
His wife Maria Claudia Tarazone wrote on X that he is “fighting for his life” and urged Colombians to pray for him.
She later said he survived an initial operation for the injuries.
Ms Tarazone said: “Miguel came out of surgery, he made it. Every hour is a critical hour. He fought his first battle, and it went well. This will take time.”
The hospital said Mr Uribe Turbay had procedures on his head and his left thigh, and remained in intensive care as doctors try to stabilise his condition.
Two other people were injured in the attack but the nature of their injuries has not been made public.
A suspect, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested at the scene with a firearm and is being treated for a leg injury, police chief General Carlos Triana said.
The government is offering a $730,000 (£540,000) reward for information and President Gustavo Petro said the investigation will focus on who ordered the attack.
“For now there is nothing more than hypothesis,” he said, adding that failures in security protocols would also be looked into.
People gather outside the hospital where Mr Uribe Turbay is ‘fighting for his life’. Pic: Reuters
Mr Uribe Turbay, who announced his presidential bid for the right-wing Democratic Center Party in March, was accompanied by a team of 21 people at the time of the shooting, his office said, including councilman Andres Barrios.
He was hoping to run in the presidential elections taking place on 31 May next year – and succeed Mr Petro, the country’s first leftist leader.
His mother, who was a journalist, was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during one of the most violent periods in Colombia’s history.
Forensic investigators at the scene of Mr Uribe Turbay’s shooting in Bogota. Pic: AP
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His party described it as an “unacceptable act of violence”, while US secretary of state Marco Rubio condemned it in the “strongest possible terms”.
Writing on X, Mr Rubio also urged Colombia’s current president to “dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials”.
Police outside the hospital where Mr Uribe Turbay is being treated. Pic: AP
Former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, who is not related to Mr Uribe Turbay, said the gunman had “attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, son, brother, and a great colleague”.
He cancelled a planned trip to France due to the “seriousness of the events”, his office said in a statement.
Messages of support poured in from elsewhere in Latin America, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric saying: “There is no room or justification for violence in a democracy.”
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa added: “We condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.”
Israel’s defence minister has threatened to “take whatever measures necessary” to stop an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg from reaching Gaza.
The climate campaigner, 22, is one of a dozen activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily last Sunday on a mission aiming to break Israel‘s sea blockade.
The activists have said they plan to reach Gaza‘s territorial waters as early as Sunday to deliver humanitarian aid.
But in a post on X, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the IDF to prevent the vessel reaching shore and to “take whatever measures necessary”.
Addressing Thunberg and the other activists, he said: “You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.”
He wrote: “I have instructed the IDF to act so that the “Madeleine” hate flotilla does not reach the shores of Gaza – and to take any means necessary to that end.
“To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.
“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations – at sea, in the air and on land.”
Latest known position of the vessel
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Why is Greta sailing to Gaza?
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, who is of Palestinian descent, is also on the boat, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israel’s policies towards Palestinians.
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Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month after a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas and preventing the group from importing arms.
But humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless there is an end to the blockade and the 20-month war, which was ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 Oct 2023.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
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