Palestinians pin hopes on Biden for justice
RAMALLAH: Palestinian leaders hope Democrat Joe Biden will tone down Washington’s proIsrael policies if he becomes US president, and Palestinian-americans have been pressing his campaign for a change, sources familiar with the efforts said.
US President Donald Trump has recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moved the US Embassy to the city and made peace proposals envisaging Israeli sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank, territory Palestinians seek for a state.
Trump’s moves — including aid cuts to the Palestinian Authority that exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank — have prompted Palestinian officials to sever ties with Washington.
“If Biden (is) elected in November, we hope that it will be a totally different dynamic,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said last week during a virtual conference with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Biden is the presumptive Democratic challenger in November’s election. He is on record as challenging plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend sovereignty to Jewish setlements in the West Bank — de facto annexation of territory Israel seized in a 1967 war.
“Biden opposes any unilateral action by either side that makes the prospects of a twostate solution less likely — including annexation, which Biden opposes now, and would continue to oppose as president,” campaign spokesman Michael Gwin said in a statement.
Gwin did not address what action Biden might take if he were president and Israel annexed West Bank land.
Netanyahu’s proposed move, under Trump’s peace blueprint, has been criticised by Arab and European nations. The Israeli leader is awaiting the green light from Washington.
Separately, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said protests over the economic slowdown could soon turn violent as restrictions to contain the coronavirus are reimposed and state assistance for the jobless lags. Alarmed by a new spike in COVID-19 cases, Netanyahu this week ordered a slew of businesses to shut back down and disbanded some children’s summer camps, dashing hopes for relief from record 21% unemployment.
Protesters from across the political spectrum have taken to the streets with demands for speedier compensation from a coalition government they see as overstaffed and ineffectual. Less than half of $29 billion in pledged aid has been paid out.