US President Joe Biden will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank on Friday, and their talks are likely to focus on economic measures without discussing major diplomatic steps.
Bethlehem, which Biden is leaving for Saudi Arabia, is the last stop of the US president, following his meetings with Israeli officials.
The Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have been stagnant since 2014, following the Palestinians’ objection to continued settlement expansion in the West Bank.
But a senior US official said Biden’s visit would make “some important announcements… such as enhancing economic opportunities for the Palestinians.”
According to the US official, Biden plans to provide “significant” aid to hospitals in East Jerusalem, and a project to develop a fourth-generation “G4” telecommunications network in the West Bank and not in the Gaza Strip.
Before meeting Abbas, Biden will arrive at a hospital operating in occupied East Jerusalem, without the escort of Israeli officials.
On Thursday, the US President made it clear that he had no intention of reversing the controversial decision of his predecessor, Donald Trump, in which he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, including its eastern part occupied since 1967.
Israel prohibits any manifestation of the Palestinian Authority’s sovereignty in East Jerusalem, including the raising of the Palestinian flag.
Abbas, who has been in office since 2005, canceled the Palestinian legislative and presidential elections last year, blaming Israel for refusing to hold them in East Jerusalem.
Biden reiterated, during his stay in Israel on Thursday, Washington’s support for “the two-state solution for two peoples, both of whom have deep and ancient roots in this land, and live side by side in peace and security.”
For his part, Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who has long echoed his support for the two-state solution, said, “I will not change my position.”
“The two-state solution is a guarantee for the strong, democratic state of Israel, with a Jewish majority,” he added.
He added, “We send with you a message of peace to all the countries of the region, including the Palestinians. Israel wants peace and believes in peace, and we will not give up an inch of our security.”
Israel is preparing to contest parliamentary elections in November. Until then, new negotiations with the Palestinians will not be likely.
poverty
Recently, the Israeli authorities announced economic measures such as increasing the number of work permits in Israel granted to Palestinians.
The World Bank estimated the poverty rate in the Palestinian territories at 27 percent last year.
The bank said in April that its outlook “remains precarious and subject to additional political and security risks”.
Despite this, the solution to the ongoing conflict between the two sides did not come to the fore in the Israeli-US talks in Jerusalem, unlike the Iranian file.
Biden’s talks with Israeli officials focused on Iran’s nuclear program and its support for groups such as Hamas, which rules Gaza.
Biden and Lapid signed a new security agreement under which the United States committed to using “all” its power to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Washington is trying to put the nuclear deal with Tehran back on track following former President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2015.
Saudi Arabia will be Biden’s next stop following leaving the West Bank.
The US president will travel from Israel to Saudi Arabia, which has not yet recognized Israel, in the first announced direct flight.
It is expected that Biden will meet in Jeddah with leaders of a number of Gulf Cooperation Council countries to discuss fluctuations in oil prices.
