U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that his country will go ahead with the process of reopening its consulate in East Jerusalem and strengthen its ties with the Palestinian Authority.

Blinken made the remarks to reporters after he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem was closed in late 2017 when former U.S. president Donald Trump recognized the disputed holy city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Palestinians regard East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, as the capital of their future independent Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, Blinken welcomed the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal that ended the 11-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.