US President Joe Biden will be in the Middle East this week, meeting with 11 regional leaders on his first trip to the region since taking office, spurred in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting high oil prices. did
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the region is more stable now than when Biden took office. He said the United States is looking for “a region with more stability and fewer wars that can drag the United States into it.”
But at the same time, there are still many problems, the most important and oldest of which may be the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
Palestinians hope to be America’s priority, and the American site “NPR” reported that there is a fear among Palestinians that Arab leaders will “abandon” them.
Biden plans to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on Wednesday or Thursday.
The White House says this means deepening channels with the Palestinians that have been almost completely cut off under the Trump administration.
Biden is expected to announce US funding for Palestinian hospitals that was cut by former US President Donald Trump to help the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority. near. .
This site says that Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, is “concerned about the meeting of Arab and American heads of state in Jeddah and asks his counterparts not to overdo relations with Israel, until Israel ends the occupation of Palestinian lands.” Palestinian leaders consider this issue as one of the best sources of pressure on Israel.
But the White House says it is constantly looking for ways to lay the groundwork for new peace talks — even if the Palestinians and Israelis are now a long way from holding them.
The site says that Israel, for its part, is going through a political transition and wants to be reassured about Iran and new relations in the region.
Most Israelis trust Biden, but gave Trump higher ratings in 2019.
Trump has taken significant steps in Israel’s favor, including endorsing the regime’s claim to Jerusalem by moving the US embassy there.
Next November, Israel will hold its fifth election in three years. Biden will meet with interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid, a relatively moderate centrist in a country dominated by the right.
According to this site, Biden seeks to help integrate Israel in the region, that is, strengthen relations with Arab countries. Biden will remind Israeli-Americans of his commitment to Israel’s security as he meets with Israeli leaders and visits the country’s Holocaust memorial.
An analysis published in “CNN” ruled out a “significant change” in peace talks, “because the White House has made it clear from the beginning that it has no interest in investing any political capital in resuming peace talks.”
He says the visit, which comes less than a month after the collapse of Israel’s last government, an event that has reinforced the belief in Washington that now is not the time to start Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, will focus attention on Israel’s regional growth. . Relations and focus on the Palestinian economy.
The United States has rejected Israel’s request to allow Israeli government officials to join Biden’s upcoming visit to the Augusta Victoria Palestine Hospital in East Jerusalem, Axios news outlet said, citing four Israeli officials who spoke to the site.
Axios says this is important because Biden’s visit to the hospital is diplomatically sensitive because it is located in East Jerusalem, which most countries consider the future capital of Palestine.
According to Israeli officials, Biden is expected to meet with Palestinian civil society activists at the hospital.
Israeli sources told Axios that Biden administration officials rejected the request, saying it was a “private visit” and not a political one.
The White House did not respond to the site’s request for comment.
Source: Lebanon Debate
