US President Joe Biden appears to be angling towards a return of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Although he has said that the time is “not ripe,” a reference to the caretaker government in Israel and his own caution, a source who attended yesterday's meeting between President Biden and the Palestinian leadership said that Biden is committed.

While the Palestinian leadership had extremely low expectations, the source in the meeting told Al-Monitor that the US-Palestinian summit was “very, very warm.” According to the source, the US is focused on ensuring that illegal settlement activities are suspended and claimed credit for quashing plans in the Atarot/Qalandia area and the E1 area of East Jerusalem. Israel had recently agreed to delay, but not cancel, those controversial plans for settlements.

The Palestinian delegation headed by President Mahmoud Abbas was happy that the Biden administration reiterated publicly the basis of a peace settlement — an independent, contiguous and viable Palestinian state on the 1967 borders; that Jerusalem issues be left to the talks; and that all unilateral actions must be stopped.

In private, Biden assured continued partnership with the Palestinian Authority, the source said. Biden spoke to the Israeli leadership about the need to stop unilateral actions and settlement activities, and that the US consulate in Jerusalem will be reopened.