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Ramallah Hosts Palestinian-US Economic Dialogue

Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
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Ramallah Hosts Palestinian-US Economic Dialogue

Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo

The Palestinian and US governments on Sunday announced the start of the US-Palestinian Economic Dialogue (USPED) to discuss current and future areas of economic cooperation.

The dialogue is scheduled to kick off on Monday. It is the fourth organized by the two sides since 2004 and the second under the current US administration.

USPED was interrupted under the Trump administration and then resumed in 2021 for the first time in five years.

A joint statement by the Palestinian and US governments said the economic dialogue is launched in light of US President Joe Biden’s commitment to achieving a two-state solution, including the existence of an independent, sovereign, and geographically connected state of Palestine, with freedom, security and prosperity for all.

USPED sessions will be chaired by Minister of National Economy Khaled al-Osaily on the Palestinian side, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department, Whitney Baird on the US side.

This senior-level dialogue will also bring together a wide range of agencies and ministries from the two governments.

Participants will discuss several crucial issues to advance the economic prosperity of the Palestinian people, increase the dynamism of the productive sectors, especially trade, industry, renewable energy, and financial issues.

They will also review the implementation of previous discussed key topics, including infrastructure development, access to US markets, US regulations, free trade, financial issues, renewable energy and environmental initiatives, connecting Palestinian and American businesses, and addressing obstacles to Palestinian economic development.

This year, the Palestinian government is going through its worst financial crisis since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority due to precipitous decline in foreign aid, Israel’s ongoing deduction of tax revenues, and the repercussions of confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2021, Washington announced the Biden Administration's plan to resume various forms of aid to the Palestinians.

The administration provided more than $890 million in aid to the Palestinian people, including humanitarian aid and through UNRWA support.

As for the volume of trade exchange between Palestine and the US, it amounts to about $100 million.

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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.