US President Biden brings Palestinians aid but no new peace plan

Agencies | Jerusalem

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

US President Joe Biden promised on Friday not to give up efforts to end the decades-long Israeli Palestinian conflict, though he offered no new proposals to restart the stalled political dialogue between the two sides.

As he wrapped up the first leg of a Middle Eastern trip before departing for Saudi Arabia, Biden visited a hospital in East Jerusalem and pledged a multi-year $100 million package of financial and technical help, Reuters said.

But after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, he acknowledged that the creation of an independent Palestinian state remained a distant prospect with no immediate prospect of new talks with Israel.

"Even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not give up on trying to bring ...both sides closer together," he said.

Biden acknowledged that after years of failed attempts to resolve the conflict, Palestinians living under onerous restrictions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza were suffering. "You can feel ... the grief and frustration," he said.

As well as the money for East Jerusalem hospitals, he will announce measures to upgrade telecoms networks in the West Bank and Gaza to 4G standards by the end of 2023, and other measures to ease travel between the West Bank and neighbouring Jordan.

There will be a separate $201 million funding package provided through UN relief agency UNRWA to help Palestinian refugees, Reuters added.