Joe Biden requested Palestine leader to sign Abraham Accords with Israel: Report
US President Joe Biden, during his trip to West Bank, had asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his cooperation on the Abraham Accords.
- World News
- 2 min read
US President Joe Biden, during his trip to West Bank, had asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his cooperation on the Abraham Accords that normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states, according to a report by the Times of Israel. Abbas-led Palestinian Authority has baulked at requests to join the agreement arguing that it bypasses the issue of Palestinian statehood. Since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the exodus of more than 7.5 lakh Palestinians from the area there have been several peace agreements brokered between Israel and other Arab countries.
Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, Biden met Abbas requesting him to join the agreement. However, the latter refused to commit to any decision. “We’ve made very clear that normalization and the implementation of the Abraham Accords is happening. This is a trend, and for the Palestinians to try to stand against it is not in anyone’s interest,” a second senior US official told Times of Israel. “We have found the Arab capitals are very supportive of folding Palestinians into Abraham Accords efforts and we’ve increasingly found the Israelis to be so as well," they added.
Israel's additional committee on Palestine issues
Israel has been snubbing the UN's two-state policy for a long time. Earlier during the Negev Summit in March, Prime Minister Yair Lapid agreed to have six working groups established by Arab states — on national security, education, health, energy, food security and tourism — also work to promote measures to boost the Palestinians in their respective area of focus. But, later, he rejected a request by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to establish an additional working group to advance the Palestinian issue.
This comes days after Biden made his maiden trip to Israel and later to Saudi Arabia. His visit marked another milestone in Israel’s normalization of ties with the Arab World. As Biden toured the Middle East, Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to all airlines, including those flying to and from Israel. Soon after the American leader hailed the decision saying that it was “the first tangible step on the path of what I hope will eventually be a broader normalization of relations,” Biden told reporters on Friday following meetings with Saudi officials.