(Central News Agency) After Israeli forces launched a deadly raid in the West Bank today, a U.S. official said Washington is concerned that the security situation between Israel and Palestine may deteriorate before Secretary of State Blinken's visit to the Middle East begins on the 29th.

Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank amid growing tensions between Israel and Palestine, Reuters reported.

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Hours before the U.S. release of Blinken's trip, according to Palestinian officials, Israeli commandos had killed seven gunmen and two civilians in the West Bank in the deadliest single battle in years.

Barbara Leaf, the top State Department official in charge of Middle East affairs, said the news of the civilian deaths was "pretty regrettable".

She also told reporters in a telephone briefing that "there is clearly a potential for a deterioration in the security situation," as she spoke several times this morning with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides and Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The United States urged Israel to coordinate with Palestinian security forces and de-escalate the situation, but after the raid the Palestinian Authority said it would end cooperation with Israel, River said.

Blinken's trip will be his first in Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government.

Opposition by some members of Netanyahu's ruling coalition to Palestinian statehood and other hardline views has sparked concern at home and abroad.

When the State Department announced Blinken's visit plan, he said that when Blinken met with Netanyahu and Palestinian self-government chairman Mahmud Abbas, they would discuss the two-state solution's role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. issues of importance.

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