A consulate for Palestinian issues in Jerusalem was closed down by Trump in 2019, and its activities were absorbed into the Israeli embassy’s Jerusalem operations.
U.S.-Palestinian relations have been broken as a result of this decision. In his campaign, President Biden stated that he would reopen the consulate.
It was stated Friday that the United States will increase its financial help to the Palestinian people, reversing several of Trump’s policies and that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians will be pursued.
As part of his trip to Bethlehem in the West Bank, Biden met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other top officials before visiting the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, after spending time with Israeli authorities in Jerusalem.
While standing with Abbas at the presidential palace, Biden remarked, “My commitment to that aim has not changed. I believe we can use the momentum Israel is building with its neighbors in the area to re-ignite the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”
In his remarks, President Biden mentioned his administration’s plans to implement economic and confidence-building measures to improve the daily lives of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. However, he did not condemn Palestinian terrorism, which has previously hampered peace efforts and sparked countless rounds of violence with Israel.
An increase in U.S. aid to the Palestinians was announced by Biden on Friday, and he said the money would go toward expanding Palestinians’ ability to access health care and technology, as well as resuming efforts to build 4G networks in Gaza and the West Bank that had been halted in the past due to Israeli security concerns.
As part of his speech, President Biden announced that the United States would provide an additional $200 million to the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) to make it the top donor country.
In 2018, Trump suspended U.S. financing for the organization, which Israel frequently accuses as the sole U.N. refugee agency that fails to relocate refugees, causing the number of Palestinian refugees to rise and perpetuating instability in the region. Moreover, Israel claims that the agency’s educational facilities indoctrinate students with anti-Israeli sentiments.
Amir Avivi, CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), an NGO with 4000 members who were former commanders in various Israeli defense organizations, told Fox News Digital that refunding UNWRA would not end Palestinian suffering.
Speaking at a press conference, he remarked, “It is a unique U.N. institution in that it gives a refugee status for one population, unlike any other in the world, that is permanent and hereditary.”
“To settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the correct thing to do is a planned and progressive liquidation of UNRWA rather than extra financing,” says Avivi.
“We dedicate ourselves to abandoning violence and confronting terrorism in our area and across the world,” Abbas added in his address.
“The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) should be removed from the U.S. terrorism list because ‘we are not terrorists,'” he said. “On the other hand, he looked forward to reopening the PLO office in Washington, which had been closed by Trump’s presidency.”
Biden announced the U.S. would provide $100 million over the next several years to a group of six Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem. The president visited Augusta Victoria Hospital early Friday, praising the workers for caring for nearly 50,000 Palestinians each year.
Israelis criticized Biden’s visit to East Jerusalem because he had removed Israeli flags from his motorcade and did not allow Israeli officials to accompany him. As a result of Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six Day War, the city of Jerusalem was named Israel’s “undivided capital.” The embassy was relocated to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in 2018 after Trump acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over the city.
“Biden’s unaccompanied visit to Augusta Victoria Hospital is a symbolic acknowledgment to those who want U.S. recognition of Jerusalem overturned,” professor Eugene Kontorovich advised Congress and the Trump Administration on the Jerusalem recognition and the embassy transfer, said on Friday.
There will be no consequence legally because recognition cannot be implicitly revoked after it has been made. It’s also worth noting that Biden may only “pantomime disagreement” but not truly rescind the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem.
When President Biden met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, the tragic killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh overshadowed their conversation.
After the journalist’s death, Biden called it “an incredible loss” and said it was an “important work of sharing the Palestinian people’s story” with the world.
He said that a thorough and open explanation of her death would continue to be demanded by the United States. “I hope her memory goes on and that many more young people take on her critical job of exposing the truth and revealing stories that are too often disregarded.”
Later this week, President Biden will meet with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as other high-ranking officials.
