The Biden government today outlined its policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and emphasized its intention to renew ties with the Palestinian Authority.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has drastically changed US policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Biden’s policies, first established today, will take the United States back to the more traditional positions held by previous Democratic and Republican governments.
Driving the news: The policy was presented by the US acting ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Mills, during a monthly meeting on the Middle East at the UN Security Council.
- Mills said the Biden government will support a two-state solution, which he sees as “the best way to ensure that Israel remains a democratic and Jewish state”.
- He added that the new government will base its policies on consultations with both sides – in contrast, the Trump administration has hardly spoken to the Palestinians for three years.
- Citing the large gaps between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Mills said the government believes its goal should be to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution in the future, while focusing on improving the situation on the ground, especially in Gaza.
Mills said Biden would encourage Israel and the Palestinians to avoid unilateral measures that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve – such as annexation, settlement construction, Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes and Palestinian payments to terrorists.
- He said the Biden government would renew ties with the Palestinian Authority, which boycotted the Trump government after he transferred the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
- Mills added that the U.S. would renew economic and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and reopen diplomatic missions that were closed by the Trump administration – such as the PLO office in Washington and the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem.
- He added that the Biden government would oppose unilateral or biased resolutions that highlight Israel in international forums.
What is the next: Mills said Biden welcomes the normalization agreements between Israel and the Arab countries, but does not see them as a substitute for Israeli-Palestinian peace. He added that Biden would like to promote more standardization agreements in a way that would reinforce pressure for a two-state solution.