JERUSALEM — President Biden said on Friday that now is not the time to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but insisted on sticking to a two-state solution to their conflict and said he hoped diplomatic agreements between Israel and Israel would be signed in 2020. and the four Arab states could give new impetus to the peace process.
“Even if the ground is currently immature to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not stop trying to bring Palestinians, Israelis, and both sides closer together,” he said. said Biden.
Now that Israel is developing relations with its neighbors in the region, we can use the same momentum to rekindle the peace process between the Palestinian people and the Israelis,” Biden referred to a series of agreements known as the Abraham Accords negotiated under the Trump administration.
Mr. Biden made these comments at a press conference after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a dismal time for Palestinians. The meeting took place in Bethlehem, instead of Ramallah, the official’s administrative headquarters. Biden will briefly visit the Church of the Nativity, a fourth-century basilica located in a place where tradition holds that Jesus was born.
After a call by the Minister, he continued his speech. For Abbas Biden will help “set the stage for a political horizon for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.”
“Isn’t it time for this occupation to end?” Mr. “The key to peace and security in our region begins with recognizing the Palestinian state,” Abbas said at a news conference, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab country, took gradual steps to normalize relations with Israel for the first time on Friday.
“The opportunity for a two-state solution along the 1967 borders can only be achieved today,” said the Palestinian leader. “But we don’t know what will happen next.”
It was a tense morning for Mr. Bay after an enthusiastic reception in Israel. Welcomed by Palestinian protests in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Biden faced off hours before a scheduled flight to destinations in Saudi Arabia that could be even more tense.
In Bethlehem, Mr. Biden stated that his commitment to the goal of a two-state solution has not changed.
Mr. Abbas as well. Biden will remove the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was shut down under President Donald J. Trump, from the US terrorist list and reopen the US consulate in Jerusalem and the PLO mission in Washington to Palestinians.
The Palestinian leadership is split between the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, and the Islamist militant group Hamas, which took control of Gaza from authority in 2007. Most Palestinians see little hope of reconciliation. latest poll shows.
The blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt is entering its 15th year. One in four Palestinians was unemployed in 2021. By June, seven in 10 Palestinians say they believe a Palestinian state is no longer possible due to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. questionnaire. Nearly 80 percent of them want Mr. Erdogan’s resignation. Abbas, the head of the authority, who last faced election in 2005, and the vast majority see both the authority and Hamas as corrupt.
Against this background, many Palestinians are fed up with the Biden administration, and 65 percent oppose dialogue between their leaders and the United States. While the Biden administration has often called for a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict – and Mr. Biden. Biden repeated that call on Thursday – the perception among analysts is that he doesn’t match his words with actions.
On Bey’s eve, the White House announces Biden’s visit a few financial measures It aimed to improve Palestinian life, but fell short of a political process to create a Palestinian state, and left several Trump-era measures in place.
In his statements on Friday, Mr. Biden also urged the Palestinian Authority to do more to clean its own home.
“If you don’t mind me saying it, the Palestinian Authority also has important work to do,” he said. said Biden. “Now is the time to strengthen Palestinian institutions to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Now is the time to unlock the incredible potential of the Palestinian people through greater participation and civil society to fight corruption, advance rights and freedoms and improve community services.”
