Palestinians welcome end of US pressure but doubt Biden will press Israel

Palestinian officials breathed a sigh of relief with the swearing-in of Joe Biden. Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh welcomed the announcements made by top officials of the Biden administration declaring the reversal of some of Donald Trump’s anti-Palestinian decisions. He said the new administration’s moves emphasized the US support for a two-state solution and the need to resume Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Despite Biden’s optimistic words, it is unclear yet whether there will be any substantive changes in US foreign policy toward Palestine/Israel.

Khalil Assali, a Jerusalem-based political analyst, said the resumption of efforts at the Jerusalem consulate on Agron Street will revive US-Palestinian communication. “The move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the existence of one of the worst US ambassadors to Palestinian-American relations has caused a total cessation of talks. So, for sure the reopening of a mission in Jerusalem that is dedicated to Palestinians will revive both secret and public meetings on the political level as well as on the economic and development levels,” said Assali.

Despite the public statement welcoming the US moves, Palestinians say it is unclear whether the Biden administration will reverse all decisions or whether there will be added conditions on the issue of the return of the Palestinian office in Washington and the US mission in East Jerusalem. Palestinian officials are worried about having to return to the earlier version in which the Washington office’s status will be reviewed every six months as part of anti-terrorism congressional legislation. Also, it is unclear how the East Jerusalem US mission will work while the Biden administration has stated it will not reverse Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.