Biden heads to West Bank, but with little to offer

When US President Joe Biden headed to the occupied West Bank overnight for talks with Palestinian leaders, he had little to offer beyond money aimed at buying calm.

He was expected to announce US$316 million ($515.39m) in financial assistance — about a third of which would require congressional approval — and a commitment from Israel to modernise wireless access for Palestinians.

But although Biden will reiterate his support for an independent Palestinian state, there’s no clear path to one. The last round of serious peace talks broke down more than a decade ago, leaving millions of Palestinians living under Israeli military rule.

Israel’s outgoing government has taken steps to improve economic conditions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. But Yair Lapid, the caretaker prime minister, does not have a mandate to hold peace negotiations, and November 1 elections could bring to power a right-wing government that opposes Palestinian statehood.

Biden acknowledged this week that while he supported a two-state solution, it wouldn’t happen “in the near-term”.

The US also appears to have accepted defeat in its more modest push to reopen a Jerusalem consulate serving the Palestinians that was closed when then-president Donald Trump recognised the contested city as Israel’s capital.

Palestinian leaders also fear being further undermined by the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic vehicle for Arab nations to normalise relations with Israel despite the continuing occupation. Biden, who heads next to

Saudi Arabia to attend a summit of Arab leaders, hopes to broaden that process, which began under Trump.

Hours before Biden was set to become the first US leader to fly directly from Israel to the kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation announced “the decision to open the Kingdom’s airspace for all air carriers that meet the requirements of the authority for overflying”.

It signalled the end of its longstanding ban on Israeli flights overflying its territory — an incremental step toward the normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel that builds on the strong, but informal ties the erstwhile foes have developed in recent years over their shared concerns about Iran’s growing influence in the region.

“President Biden welcomes and commends the historic decision by the leadership of Saudi Arabia to open Saudi airspace to all civilian carriers without discrimination, a decision that includes flights to and from Israel,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in a statement. AP