The Biden administration has now had more official contacts with Palestinian officials in its first two weeks than the Trump administration in the past three years.
Why does it matter: Deputy Secretary of State for Israel-Palestine Hady Amr spoke by telephone with several Palestinian officials on Monday. These were the first publicly announced interactions between the parties as the Biden administration moves on to renewing ties that have effectively been severed since Donald Trump announced in December 2017 that he was moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
What are they saying: “We talked about bilateral relations, about the latest developments and about politics. It was a positive conversation. It was agreed to continue the communication, “Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh posted on Twitter after speaking with Amr.
The whole picture: The Biden administration intends to withdraw many of Trump’s policies on Israel-Palestine.
- According to Biden administration officials, the US will resume aid to the Palestinians and reopen the office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Washington, as well as the consulate in Jerusalem.
- The Biden administration will oppose the annexation, construction of settlements and demolition of Palestinian houses by Israel.
Not worth anything: Amr will be one of the key players in shaping the administration’s Israeli-Palestinian policies. He is highly respected by Palestinian officials, who consider him a balanced actor.
- The Biden administration does not intend to appoint a special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and the issue will be dealt with for the most part by the State Department.
The most recent: Palestinian news site Amad reported on Saturday that Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Palestinian intelligence director Majed Faraj also spoke on the phone with Amr.
- Shtayyeh confirmed that they discussed the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the reopening of the PLO office in Washington, along with the renewal of US financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA.