Blinken meets with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, met with the Palestinian Authority president on Friday 13 October.

Mr Blinken’s meeting with Mahmoud Abbas in the Jordanian capital Amman comes after his brief visit to Israel.

It is the first face-to-face encounter since the current crisis began between the US and the leader of the Palestinian Authority.

Mr Abbas, 87, has been leader of the Palestinian Authority for the past 18 years.

His initial four-year term has been extended because of a failure to hold elections in the territory.

The Palestinian Authority partially governs the West Bank, but is a bitter political rival to Hamas, which controls Gaza.