Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced his readiness to revive the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, based on a two-state solution, calling for holding an international peace conference as soon as possible.
During a meeting of Fatah’s Central Committee in Ramallah, Abbas underlined the importance of benefiting from the international support which upholds an international peace conference to resolve the Palestinian issue, based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.
He welcomed the call of the international quartet including the US, Russia, the EU, and the UN, on reviving “meaningful negotiations” between the Palestinians and the Israelis with the aim of achieving a two-state solution.
He called for the necessity of pressuring the Israeli government to stop its unilateral measures aimed at imposing a fait accompli policy.
An international peace conference was held within the framework of the plan launched by Abbas in response to the “deal of the century” announced by former US President Donald Trump. Abbas's plan did not receive the needed support due to Trump's opposition.
The Palestinian Authority depends now on a change with the arrival of US President Joe Biden, hoping he would be able to restore relations and advance a new peace process in the region.
The Palestinians expect Biden to support an international peace conference, but they want to restore relations with the US after they were cut off with the former administration.
Under the Trump administration, the US cut all ties with the Authority, suspended aid, closed the Palestinian Liberation Office (PLO) in Washington, and expelled the Palestinian representative after the leadership rejected Trump's “deal of the century.”
The Palestinians are waiting for the US administration to fulfill its pledges to reopen its consulate in East Jerusalem, reopen the PLO office in Washington, and fully resume aid.
Washington recently transferred $15 million to help the Authority fight the third wave of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh described it as “an important step” in the right direction to reshape the relationship with the US administration.
The US will resume diplomatic ties with Palestinians that were cut under the Trump administration, the US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council.
"Since January, our diplomatic engagement has been guided by the premise that sustainable progress toward peace must be based on active consultations with both sides," Thomas-Greenfield said.
The envoy said that the US has "recommitted to the vision of a mutually agreed two-state solution, one in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state,” announcing the $15 million in humanitarian aid for the West Bank and Gaza.
If the Biden administration wants to resume aid more broadly, it must deal with the Taylor Force Act, which was passed by the Congress in 2018.
Taylor Force Act bans Washington from sending aid that directly benefits the Authority as long as it continues to send salaries to the families of Palestinians detained by Israelis.
