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Israel-Palestine conflict: Biden makes first call to Abbas, Netanyahu amid fighting

Washington - Biden conveyed 'US commitment to strengthening the US-Palestinian partnership'.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday held his first phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since taking office, amid heavy fighting between Israel and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.

Biden has dispatched an envoy to try to quell the violence that has killed dozens in Gaza and at least 10 in Israel, but US, regional and international efforts have yet to show any signs of progress.

Biden "stressed the need for Hamas to cease firing rockets into Israel", and the two men "expressed their shared concern that innocent civilians, including children, have tragically lost their lives amidst the ongoing violence," a summary of the call released by the White House said.

Biden also conveyed the "US commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Palestinian partnership" and highlighted his administration's recent decision to restore aid to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza that had been cut under former President Donald Trump.

Gaza burns as diplomacy fails

A summary of the call released by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Biden said he opposes the eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah, though the White House account of the conversation did not mention the case.

Biden also spoke with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said on Saturday, as the Israel-Hamas conflict continued to rage and destroyed a tower block that housed news media organizations.

Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday, destroying the tower while Palestinian rocket salvoes hit Tel Aviv.

Biden reaffirmed the United States "strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas" in his call with Netanyahu.

A long-running legal case over the evictions helped ignite tension in the holy city and spark fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.

Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA) has limited-self rule in the occupied West Bank, part of territory Israel captured, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, in the 1967 Middle East war.

But the PA exerts little influence over Gaza and its rulers Hamas, which seized control of the Palestinian enclave in 2007 after a falling out with Abbas's Fatah party.

The United States considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, and does not talk to the group.

Some analysts say Hamas appeared to see the escalation with Israel as an opportunity to marginalise Abbas and present itself as the guardian of Palestinians in Jerusalem, whose eastern sector they seek for a future state.