The US administration has not yet fulfilled any of the promises made by President Joe Biden to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, PA presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said on Tuesday.
His remarks came one day after he and other senior PA officials, including PLO Executive Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh, held talks in Ramallah with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.
Abu Rudaineh said the “unfulfilled promises” included a pledge to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem, maintain the status quo in the city, and oppose unilateral Israeli measures such as the “seizure” of Palestinian money, a reference to tax revenues withheld by Israel in response to payments made by the PA to families of prisoners and “martyrs.”
The PA official called on the Biden administration to revise its policies toward the ongoing Israeli measures against the Palestinians. He also called for exerting pressure on Israel to halt its “aggression and crimes,” which don’t create a suitable atmosphere for any peace process.
The world “is still committed to the two-state solution, international law and international legitimacy,” Abu Rudaineh said. As long as there is no solution to the Palestinian issue, the region will not live in peace, and as long as Jerusalem burns, the whole region will remain in a state of instability and tension.”
Abu Rudaineh also condemned the killing of two Palestinians earlier in the day during clashes with the IDF in the refugee camps of Balata, near Nablus, and Kalandiya, near Ramallah. Describing the killings as “extrajudicial executions,” he warned that “this escalation could lead to an explosion.”
The Palestinian from Kalandiya was identified as Muhammad al-Shaham, while the one from Balata camp was identified as Nader al-Rayyan.
“Our people will not accept the continuing occupation measures against them, and they have all options to act in any way and anywhere to preserve their rights and confront the occupation,” Abu Rudaineh said. “The Palestinian leadership will continue its efforts to present files related to the Israeli government’s escalation of its crimes before all international organizations and institutions, especially the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.”
Sheikh, regarded as a leading candidate to succeed Abbas, said that in the meeting with Amr, the Palestinians “stressed that the credibility of the international community is at stake, and international legitimacy should not be divided, and double standards should not be applied to the implementation of UN resolutions.”
Sheikh said it was “time for those decisions to be implemented and the Israeli occupation to leave our land.”
The talks with Amr covered several files, including bilateral relations and issues related to the situation with Israel, as well as regional and international issues, he said.
Amr also met with PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who told him the Palestinians are angry because of Israeli “assaults and settler terrorism, as well as the double standards regarding the implementation of international resolutions.”
Shtayyeh urged the Biden administration to pressure Israel to abide by the signed agreements.
He also called for halting Israeli measures against the Palestinians and “incursions” [of Jews] into the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs) in Hebron.
Shtayyeh briefed Amr on the financial and economic challenges facing the PA “due to external influences, illegal Israeli deductions from tax funds and the decline in foreign aid.”
The Palestinians were “extremely disappointed” with the policies of the Biden administration toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a senior PA official said.
“The Biden administration is not doing anything to stop Israel from destroying the two-state solution,” the official said. “Since the beginning of the year, 20 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli security forces. The US and the international community are not putting pressure on Israel to halt its crimes.
“All the promises made by the Biden administration to the Palestinians have not been fulfilled. It is time for the Palestinian leadership to assume responsibility and implement measures taken by Palestinian institutions, including severing ties with Israel.”