West Bank: Meeting between Abbas and Pelosi
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Roshan Amiri
- . February 19, 2022
- . Update: February 20, 2022 6:49 pm
Israel– According to Abbas’ office, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas met with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday to discuss resurrecting a two-state solution to the conflict. It was the 86-year-old Palestinian president’s highest-level meeting with an American official in recent years.
Abbas called on the United States to take action against what he called “unilateral Israeli tactics” that “undermine a two-state solution.” Expanding Jewish colonies in the West Bank and evicting Palestinians from various portions of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as their future capital, were among them.
During former President Donald Trump’s administration, relations between the US and the Palestinian Authority effectively broke out, particularly after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital.” During former President Donald Trump’s administration, relations between the US and the Palestinian Authority effectively broke out, particularly after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital.”
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Since President Joe Biden took office last year, the US has made a number of attempts to reach out to Abbas and the PA. Support for Abbas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) is at an all-time low, according to polls, especially after the aging president abandoned plans to hold elections last year.
Experts say Washington is eager to engage with its close friend Israel to support the beleaguered Palestinian Authority, particularly as a bulwark against Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. Much of the West considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization. Pelosi, who was leading an eight-member Democratic delegation to the region, had already met with key Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, earlier in the day. Bennett expressed gratitude for her ‘consistent support for Israel.’
Pelosi and the US delegation underlined “America’s unshakeable commitment to the State of Israel” in conversations with Israeli officials, according to a statement from the speaker’s office. ‘We reaffirmed America’s commitment to a just and lasting two-state solution that improves stability and security for Israel, Palestinians, and their neighbors,’ the statement said.
