US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, after pressing Israel’s leaders to offer a pathway to a Palestinian state, Reuters reports.

Blinken crossed Israeli checkpoints to reach the de facto Palestinian capital Ramallah, according to pool reporters who travelled with the US top diplomat.

Blinken was set to discuss with Abbas the PA’s responsibility to reform itself and improve its governance, he said in a news conference on Tuesday evening, reflecting Washington’s view that Abbas, 88, needs to overhaul the organization in preparation to govern a post-war Gaza.

The PA, which exercises limited self-rule in some areas of the occupied West Bank, remains the best hope for a unified Palestinian government of both Gaza and the West Bank.