JERUSALEM – President Biden said on Friday that now was not the time to resume peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, but insisted that he remained committed to a two-state solution to their conflict and expressed the hope that diplomatic agreements between Israel sealed by 2020 and four Arab states could give new impetus to the peace process.
“Even if the ground is not ripe at this point to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not give up trying to bring the Palestinians and Israelis and both sides closer together,” Biden said.
“Right now, as Israel improves relations with its neighbors across the region, we can use that same momentum to revive the peace process between the Palestinian people and Israelis,” added Mr Biden, referring to a series of agreements known as the Abraham Accords, which were negotiated under the Trump administration.
Mr Biden made the remarks at a news conference after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a bleak time for Palestinians. The meeting took place in Bethlehem instead of Ramallah, the administrative center of the authority, to meet Mr. Biden briefly visit the Church of the Nativity, the fourth-century basilica that stands on a site where legend has it that Jesus was born.
His comments followed a call from Mr. Abbas for Mr. Biden to help “prepare the atmosphere for a political horizon for a just, comprehensive, lasting peace”.
“Isn’t it time for this occupation to end?” Mr Abbas said at the press conference. “The key to peace and security in our region begins with the recognition of the state of Palestine,” he added, despite Saudi Arabia — the most powerful Arab country — taking step-by-step steps on Friday to open relations with Israel for the first time. times to normalize.
“The opportunity for a two-state solution along the 1967 borders may only be available today,” the Palestinian leader said. “But we don’t know what will happen later.”
After a lavish reception in Israel, it was a tense morning for Mr. Biden, who was met with protests from Palestinians in Jerusalem and Bethlehem hours before a scheduled flight to what could be even more fraught meetings in Saudi Arabia.
In Bethlehem, Mr. Biden said his commitment to the goal of a two-state solution had not changed, saying: “Two states along the 1967 lines with mutually agreed-upon land swap remains the best way to achieve equal measures of security, prosperity and freedom. . and democracy for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Mr Abbas also urged Mr Biden to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization from the US terrorism list and reopen the US consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the PLO mission in Washington, both of which were closed under President Donald J. Trump.
Palestinian leadership is split between the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamist militant group that took control of Gaza from authority in 2007. Most Palestinians see little hope for reconciliation, recent opinion polls.
In Gaza, a blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt is in its 15th year. One in four Palestinians was unemployed by 2021. Seven in ten say they believe Palestinian statehood is no longer feasible due to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, a June said opinion poll. Nearly 80 percent want the resignation of Mr Abbas, the authority’s president, who was last elected in 2005, and the vast majority view both the authority and Hamas as corrupt.
Against this backdrop, many Palestinians are frustrated with the Biden administration, with 65 percent opposing dialogue between their leadership and the United States. While the Biden administration has often called for a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict — and Biden reiterated that call on Thursday — the perception among analysts is that he has failed to match his words with actions.
On the eve of Mr Biden’s visit, the White House announced: various financial measures intended to improve Palestinian life, but halted a political process to create a Palestinian state and left several Trump-era measures in effect.
In his comments on Friday, Biden also called on the Palestinian Authority to do more to clean its own home.
“The Palestinian Authority also has important work to do, if you don’t mind me saying so,” Mr Biden said. “Now is the time to strengthen Palestinian institutions to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Now is the time to unleash the incredible potential of the Palestinian people through greater engagement and civil society to fight corruption, promote rights and freedoms and improve community services.”