Blinken visits West Bank as violence surges

STORY: Blinken is urging calm on both sides after last week's killing by a Palestinian gunman of seven people outside a synagogue in the worst such attack in the Jerusalem area for years.

Last week, Abbas' Palestinian Authority suspended its security cooperation agreement with Israel after the largest raid in years, when Israeli forces penetrated deep into a refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, setting off a gunfight in which 10 Palestinians died.

In January alone, 35 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, in the bloodiest month since 2015, while officials say attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers have also increased.