Joe Biden (left) and Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem this Friday.ATEF SAFADI (EFE)
United States President Joe Biden announced this Friday a modest package of economic aid to the Palestinian people as part of his brief visit to East Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, marked by the absence of a diplomatic initiative on the future of Palestine. The President’s visit and announcement mark a change in form from the harsh policies of his predecessor Donald Trump, but represent only a tentative shift in content and substance. They also served to conclude the first half of his trip across the Middle East and to Saudi Traveling in Arabia, which is the part that has raised the most expectations and criticism.
During his visit to Bethlehem, Biden met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who in his subsequent media appearance asked the American leader for greater commitment to the cause of his people’s independence and an end to the occupation and the “apartheid regime ” Israel’s, in the words of the Palestinian leader. For his part, Biden has limited himself to repeating his empty defense of the two-state solution, despite claiming that this is not the right time to resume negotiations. “There has to be a political horizon that the Palestinian people can really see, or at least feel. We cannot allow desperation to steal our future,” Biden declared, before adding that “the ground is not yet ready for negotiations to resume.” The US President has also indicated that Israel’s increasing regional integration, for which he has promised efforts by his government, could help revitalize a political process with the Palestinians, but he has not explained exactly how.
Biden’s arrival in Palestine was also marked by the death of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead by Israeli security forces in May while covering a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin. Despite the fact that several independent investigations concluded that the reporter, who was a US and Palestinian national, was killed by Israeli fire, Israel and the United States have firmly avoided confirming or denying this. In his appearance, Abbas asked Washington to help seek responsibility for the reporter’s death, whom he regards as a “martyr,” while Biden – who couldn’t pronounce the journalist’s name correctly – limited himself to saying his ” death” a “great loss” and vowed to continue to help with the investigation, although he did not specify how.
While the Palestinian side did not have high hopes for Biden’s visit, Abbas urged him to fulfill at least some of his campaign promises, such as reopening the US consulate in Jerusalem and removing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Palestine. terrorist list and allows its diplomatic headquarters in Washington to reopen. However, the US President believes that the reactivation of some economic aid to the Palestinian people, as announced this Friday, already represents a return to Trump’s policies. In an apparent attempt to downplay his presence in East Jerusalem as well, Biden has reiterated to Abbas that the United States continues to regard Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that the city’s “specific limits of sovereignty” must be resolved through negotiations, according to a white statement of the House.
One of the most anticipated aids announced by Biden later today was $100 million, pending approval by the United States Congress, intended for a network of hospitals in east Jerusalem , which offer services specialized to patients from Western Bank and Gaza. This is indirect aid to the fragile Palestinian government, which does not manage these hospitals but bears the cost of treating West Bank and Gaza Palestinians and has struggled with it for months, increasing pressure on some centers that play a key role play in your healthcare system. Another aid announced by the US includes $200 million for the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
For the Palestinian Authority, this fleeting visit was also overshadowed by the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s decision to open its airspace to planes flying into and out of Israel, which previously had to circumnavigate the country. The gesture was interpreted as a further step towards greater integration of Israel in the region and indicates Riyadh’s willingness to participate in this process. Biden, for his part, is the first President of the United States to fly direct from Israel to the Saudi city of Jeddah, where the second leg of his regional tour begins, and which inspires the greatest expectation after the Democratic president said during the 2020 presidential campaign that he is due to Saudi Arabia Riyadh’s involvement in the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in the Istanbul consulate would make it an international pariah.
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