Palestinian president asks U.S. to turn words into deeds

RAMALLAH, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that the U.S. side has to turn its words regarding the Mideast conflict into deeds, the Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported.

"The U.S. has to turn its words into deeds instead of adopting the policy of silence and condemnation for the unilateral Israeli measures because the situation on the ground is no longer acceptable at all," said Abbas during a telephone conversation with Blinken.

"The current situation cannot be tolerated amid the absence of a political horizon and an international protection of our people," Abbas was quoted by the WAFA as saying.

Abbas asked the U.S. side to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, reopen the PLO office in Washington and reopen the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem, the WAFA reported.

Blinken told Abbas that the current U.S. administration "is committed to the two-state solution, stopping settlement expansion, and preventing the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem."

"The U.S. is committed to reopening its consulate in Jerusalem," Blinken said, adding that Washington will send a high-ranking delegation to the region to prepare for U.S. President Joe Biden's upcoming visit at the end of June.

Blinken said that Washington is keen to investigate the killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to prosecute and hold the killers accountable.

On May 11, Abu Akleh, 51, was killed after being shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank.