The Biden administration will repeal some Trump-era actions, but say they have no place for ‘Israeli-Palestinian peace’.
It is the policy of the Middle East President of the United States Joe Biden “to support a mutually agreed two-state solution, in which Israel lives in peace and security, along with a so- Palestine, “the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations has told the UN Security Council.
“The President’s view is that a two-state solution is the only way forward,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Mills said the Biden administration intends to restore Palestinian aid and take steps to reopen diplomatic missions closed by the Trump administration and will continue to urge other countries to normalize ties with Israel.
“To advance these goals the Biden administration will restore reliable U.S. communication with Palestinians as well as Israelis,” Mills said.
“This will involve a renewal of U.S. relations with the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people,” he said.
“President Biden has made it clear that he intends to restore U.S. aid programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid programs for the Palestinian people, and take steps to reopen past diplomatic relations. closed by the last U.S. administration, “Mills added.
He said the administration recognizes that this is “not a place for Israel-Palestinian peace”.
This news is the beginning of what is expected to be a reshuffle of Trump administration policies that strongly supported Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, often at the expense of Palestinian rights.
Biden is expected to take a more moderate approach to the conflict similar to previous Democratic administrations.
Trump and israel
While the Trump administration has been widely called for for the normalization agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, little attention has been paid to Palestinian rights since Trump began in 2017.
Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, long considered the future state capital of Palestine.
It also cut annual funding of $ 360m to UNRWA, the United Nations agency that deals with Palestinian refugees; it reduced other support for the Palestinians and closed the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington, DC.
In 2019, Trump opposed an international consensus and recognized Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Golan Heights owned. The administration also backed Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories that critics say are flying against a two-state solution.
In 2020, the Trump administration unveiled the long-promised “plan in the Middle East,” which critics of the Palestinian people called “apartheid.”
Domestically, Trump signed an action order aimed at diverting supporters from the Boycott, Divestment and Control (BDS) movement on U.S. college campuses.
A revision of the US approach is not expected
Biden is expected to remain strongly supportive of Israel, but is a less political friend of Netanyahu. His administration is expected to reaffirm its long-standing U.S. position that Israeli settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace and a return to other internationally recognized positions of Israeli sovereignty. .
However, during his confirmation hearing last week, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state Antony Blinken said the U.S. would keep its embassy in Jerusalem.
Blinken also reaffirmed his support for a bi-state solution, but said: “Really, it’s hard to see near-term prospects for moving forward on that.”
“What would be important is to ensure that one party does not take steps that will make the process more challenging,” he said.
The Biden administration is expected to return to the UN Human Rights Council, which the Trump administration pulled out of it, accusing it of “harmful bias” against Israel.