Biden restates backing for two-state solution but offers no way forward

1 / 5
US President Joe Biden waves before boarding Air Force One to depart Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
2 / 5
(L to R) US President Joe Biden and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas deliver statements to the media after their meeting at the Muqataa Presidential Compound in Bethlehem. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
3 / 5
US President Joe Biden called the east Jerusalem hospitals ‘the backbone of the Palestinian health care system.’ (AFP)
4 / 5
A photo of slain US-Palestinian Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, with a caption in Arabic reading “Shireen Abu Akleh, the voice of Palestine.” (MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
5 / 5
Israel's President Isaac Herzog (2nd-R) and caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid (C) bid farewell to US President Joe Biden (2nd-L). (MANDEL NGAN / AFP)
Short Url
Updated 16 July 2022
Follow

Biden restates backing for two-state solution but offers no way forward

  • US president meets Abbas in Bethlehem, admits that Palestinians are suffering
  • He pledges new $100m assistance package and $200m for UN refugee aid agency

RAMALLAH: US President Joe Biden vowed on Friday not to give up efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but offered no new proposals to restart stalled political dialogue.

After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Biden admitted that the creation of an independent Palestinian state was a distant prospect with no likelihood of new talks with Israel.

“Even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, the US and my administration will not give up on trying to bring ... both sides closer together,” the president said.

“There must be two states for two peoples living side by side in safety and peace. Every people must live in dignity, but the goal of the two-state solution is out of reach because there are restrictions on movement and other restrictions imposed on the Palestinians.”

 

 

Biden acknowledged that after years of failed attempts to resolve the conflict, Palestinians living under onerous restrictions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza were suffering. "You can feel ... the grief and frustration," he said.“The Palestinian people feel sad, and we feel what they feel, but we will not give up on continuing our efforts for peace.

“The urgent needs of the Palestinians now are the best way to improve the situation. We are life partners to improve the lives of the Palestinians.”

Abbas urged Biden to reopen the US Consulate in East Jerusalem, and to remove the PLO from its terrorist list and reinstate its office in Washington. “The key to peace and security in our region begins with recognizing the state of Palestine and enabling the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights under legitimate international resolutions,” he said.

“The permanent status issues must be resolved, including the refugee issue, and the way forward begins with the end of the Israeli occupation of the land of the state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders. If Israel wants to be a normal state, it cannot continue to act as a state above the law, and this calls for Israel to end its occupation.”

Abbas also asked for US support to bring to justice the killers of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American citizen shot dead by Israeli soldiers during a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin. Biden said the US would continue to seek accountability for her death.

Before departing for Saudi Arabia, Biden visited a hospital in East Jerusalem and pledged a multiyear $100 million package of financial and technical help. There are also plans to upgrade telecoms networks in the West Bank and Gaza to 4G standards by the end of 2023, and other measures to ease travel between the West Bank and Jordan.

There will be a separate $200 million funding package provided through the UN relief agency UNRWA to help Palestinian refugees.

The atmosphere that greeted Biden in the occupied West Bank was very different from the warm reception he received in Israel, where he was greeted as an old friend and awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor.

As he was driven to the presidential palace in Bethlehem, signs saying “Mr President, this is apartheid” were displayed along the route. In Bethlehem, a large banner reading “Justice for Shireen” was spread out, and a seat symbolically left empty for the murdered journalist by former colleagues covering the meeting with Abbas.




(AFP)

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti told Arab News that the Biden-Abbas meeting had brought nothing for the Palestinian people, but showed the US bias toward Israel. “Why does Biden dedicate three days of his visit to Israel and give only one hour to the Palestinians?” he said.

“Biden confirmed that he supports the two-state solution in the long-term, not the immediate perspective. When he does not pressure Israel to stop settlements? This perpetuates the Israeli apartheid regime in the Palestinian territories.

“After this disappointing meeting, we as Palestinians must unite our forces because there is no hope waiting for Palestinian-Israeli negotiations sponsored by the US.”

Druze: the great survivors
How the world's most secretive faithhas endured for a thousand years

Enter


keywords

Al-Azhar Al-Sharif condemns terrorist crimes against civilians in Gaza

Updated 1 min 11 sec ago
Follow

Al-Azhar Al-Sharif condemns terrorist crimes against civilians in Gaza

  • Al-Azhar Al-Sharif reiterated the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities and put a stop to the ‘frenzied aggression against the people of Gaza’
  • Al-Azhar said that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, including patients, had been uncovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis

CAIRO: Al-Azhar Al-Sharif — Sunni Islam’s oldest and foremost seat of learning — has strongly condemned “the terrorist crimes being committed against civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

In a statement, Al-Azhar censured the attacks, “the hideousness of which was revealed through the widespread reports about mass graves of hundreds of bodies of children, women, the elderly, and medical personnel in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Shifa Medical Complexes.

“Also, dozens of bodies were found “scattered” in shelter and displacement centers and tents, and residential neighborhoods throughout the Strip.”

Al-Azhar said that it affirmed to the world that “these mass graves are the definitive proof that these hideous atrocities and horrors have become normal daily behavior for Israel.”

It said that the people of the world must unite to protest in a way that deterred the regimes supporting these crimes. 

Al-Azhar demanded an urgent international trial against “the ‎terrorist occupation government, which no longer ‎knows the meaning of humanity or the right to life and is ‎committing genocides every day.”

It reiterated the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, stop the “frenzied aggression against the people of Gaza and the consequent suffering and unprecedented humanitarian disasters, and ensure the protection of civilians and the delivery of sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip.”

Al-Azhar expressed its “sincere condolences and sympathy to ‎the Palestinian people and the families of the martyrs, calling ‎on the Lord Almighty to shower them with His vast mercy and ‎forgiveness, to reassure the hearts of their families and loved ‎ones, and to speed up the recovery of the sick.”

Citing media reports, Al-Azhar said that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, including patients, had been uncovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis since Saturday.


New UK sanctions target Iranian drone industry

Photographers stand by the remains of a missile that landed on the shore of the Dead Sea.
Updated 25 April 2024
Follow

New UK sanctions target Iranian drone industry

  • The measures, taken in co-ordination with the US and Canada, target four businesses and two directors at a network of drone companies

LONDON: Britain on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s military drone industry, in response to Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel earlier this month.
The measures, taken in co-ordination with the US and Canada, target four businesses and two directors at a network of drone companies with the aim of limiting Iran’s ability to launch drones.
“The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.
“Today the UK and our partners have sent a clear message – we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilising behavior to account.”
Britain also said it would introduce new bans on the export of drone and missile components to Iran, seeking to limit its military capabilities.
Last week, Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian military figures and organizations, in another coordinated move with the United States, following Iran’s action against Israel.
Iran launched drones and fired missiles at Israel on April 13 as a retaliatory strike for the attack on its embassy compound in Damascus two weeks prior, raising the risk of further escalation in conflict in the Middle East. 


Egypt, Dutch leaders discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts

Updated 25 April 2024
Follow

Egypt, Dutch leaders discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts

  • Rafah assault ‘will have catastrophic consequences on regional peace and security,’ El-Sisi warns
  • Egypt’s president and the Dutch prime minister agreed on the urgency of working toward reaching a ceasefire

CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands.

During a phone call from Rutte on Thursday, the Egyptian leader warned that any Israeli assault on Rafah will have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation in the enclave.

The leaders discussed bilateral relations, and ways to enhance cooperation across various political and economic levels consistent with the current momentum in Egyptian-European relations.

Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said the call also focused on the situation in Gaza, and Egypt’s efforts to restore regional stability by reaching a ceasefire and providing access to humanitarian aid.

El-Sisi reiterated the crucial importance of ending the war, warning against any military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, which will have catastrophic consequences on the humanitarian situation in the strip and on regional peace and security.

The Egyptian leader underscored the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to implement the relevant UN resolutions.

Egypt’s president and the Dutch prime minister agreed on the urgency of working toward reaching a ceasefire, and ensuring the flow of adequate humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip in order to protect it from a humanitarian catastrophe.

They also emphasized the need to move toward implementing the two-state solution, which would restore regional stability, and establish security and peace in the region.

In March, El-Sisi received Rutte to discuss bilateral relations, regional developments, and Egypt’s efforts to reach a ceasefire and offer humanitarian assistance in Gaza.


Lebanon postpones local elections again as violence rocks south

Updated 25 April 2024
Follow

Lebanon postpones local elections again as violence rocks south

  • Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years
  • Parliament approved “extending the existing municipal and elective councils’ mandate until a date no later than May 31, 2025,” despite objections from lawmakers opposed to Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday delayed municipal elections for a third time in two years, state media reported, as militants in the country’s south exchanged near-daily fire with Israel for over six months.
The powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group has been trading fire with Israeli forces across the border since the day after its Palestinian ally Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years, but cash-strapped authorities last held a local ballot in 2016.
Parliament approved “extending the existing municipal and elective councils’ mandate until a date no later than May 31, 2025,” despite objections from lawmakers opposed to Hezbollah, said the official National News Agency.
The bill cited “complex security, military and political circumstances following the Israeli aggression on Lebanon” and especially its south, near the border, as reasons for the delay.
Lawmakers did not set a new date for the elections, initially scheduled for 2022.
Local councils help provide basic services to residents, but their role has declined as state coffers ran dry after Lebanon’s economy collapsed in late 2019.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had previously said southern Lebanon could not be excluded from any upcoming ballot, after the Christian Lebanese Forces, the main party opposing Hezbollah, insisted on holding the polls on time.
More than 92,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon due to the violence, as have tens of thousands of residents of Israeli communities across the border.
Since violence began along the Israeli border on October 8, at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 72 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 11 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed on its side of the border.
In April 2023, the Lebanese parliament had already postponed municipal elections as the deputy speaker warned holding them was “almost impossible” for the cash-strapped country after years of economic meltdown.
Lebanon has faced the prolonged financial crisis and months of border clashes essentially leaderless, without a president and headed by a caretaker government with limited powers amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.


Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill teen in West Bank

Updated 25 April 2024
Follow

Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill teen in West Bank

  • Israeli police said “hits were identified” when forces responded to stone-throwing with gunfire
  • The Palestinian health ministry said Khaled Raed Arouq was shot in the chest and “martyred by the occupation’s live bullets“

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian officials said Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old boy during a raid in the West Bank city of Ramallah early on Thursday.
Israeli police said “hits were identified” when forces responded to stone-throwing with gunfire but did not directly address the allegation.
The Palestinian health ministry said Khaled Raed Arouq was shot in the chest and “martyred by the occupation’s live bullets.”
Palestinian official news agency Wafa said Arouq died after being “shot by Israeli gunfire” early on Thursday morning.
Israeli forces carry out regular raids on towns and cities in the occupied West Bank and violence has soared in the Palestinian territory since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7.
Wafa said Israeli military vehicles stormed the city and “confrontations broke out between citizens and the occupation forces, who fired live bullets and stun grenades.”
It said Israeli forces were stationed in several neighborhoods and raided a house in Al-Bireh to the northeast.
Israeli police said: “Terrorists threw stones at the forces operating in the area, the forces responded with gunfire, and hits were identified.”
The police said they made several arrests and that Israeli forces did not suffer any casualties.
The army did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Later on, Thursday, mourners carried Arouq’s body wrapped in the flag of Fatah, the political party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, in his hometown of Jenin where he was buried.
“He was hit by a bullet in his back, which exited through his chest...They assassinated him in cold blood,” Majed Arqawi, cousin of Arouq, told AFP.
Wafa said Arouq’s father was an officer in the Palestinian military intelligence service.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and at least 488 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers there since October 7, according to Palestinian officials.
At least 19 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in the same period, according to official Israeli figures.