US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is committed to reforming the Palestinian Authority (PA) in a way that could “reunite” Gaza and the occupied West Bank under its leadership, AFP reports.

Blinken was speaking to reporters in Bahrain after meeting with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah during a tour of the Middle East aimed at preventing an escalation of the Israel-Hamas fighting.

“We talked … about the importance of reforming the Palestinian Authority, policy and governance so that it can effectively take responsibility for Gaza … so that Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited under a Palestinian leadership,” he said.

“It’s very clear to me for president Abbas that he’s prepared to move forward and engage in all of these efforts.”

Blinken said Abbas was committed to reforming the Palestinian Authority.

“What I take away from this meeting is that he is committed to that and is very much prepared to move forward,” Blinken told AFP in response to a question about Abbas’s commitment to reforming the PA.