US President Joe Biden concluded his 10th visit to Israel and first as president on Friday.
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After visiting the Augusta Victoria hospital in east Jerusalem, where Biden pledged US support for Palestinian health care institutions and $201 million in aid to UNRWA, the presidential motorcade set off for Bethlehem, his last local stop before the second leg the president's Middle East trip – Saudi Arabia.
Biden met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and their discussion ran over the scheduled 45 minutes.
In a formal statement following the meeting, Abbas urged the US to work toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "end the occupation of our land," and also remove the Palestinian Authority from the US list of state terrorist sponsors.
"We are not terrorists," Abbas said, adding that he "extended his hand to Israel in peace, for the sake of future generations."
"We are willing to work with you to reach peace, based on the Arab proposal and agreements with Israel," Abbas said. The PA leader also asked the US to "put an end to unilateral moves [by Israel]."
Biden said he was among the earliest supporters of a two-state solution along the 1967 borders, and his commitment has not changed.
"The Palestinan people deserve a state of their own - sovereign, vibrant, and contiguous," Biden said.
"Every person has a right to be treated with dignity," he said, adding that the Palestinians' "grief and frustration" were palpable. "We cannot allow the hopelessness to steal away the future."
Biden said that even if the time were not right for a Palestinian state, the US would not give up on the idea of a viable peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, notwithstanding the violence that has "devastated so many families."
En route to Bethlehem, Palestinian journalists covering Biden's visit were wearing black T-shirts bearing the image of slain Palestinian-American correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh. The popular Al-Jazeera correspondent was killed in May while covering clashes between IDF forces and Palestinians in the terrorist stronghold of Jenin.
The Palestinians, including colleagues who were with her, say that Israeli soldiers intentionally killed her. Israel says its troops were in a battle with Palestinian gunmen, and it's not clear who fired the deadly bullet.
US experts who inspected the bullet recently determined that Israeli fire likely killed her. But without providing evidence, they said there was no reason to believe the shooting was intentional.
Biden said that Abu Akleh's death was "an enormous loss," and praised her "important work."
"The US will continue to insist on a full investigation of Abu Akleh's death," the president promised.
Biden told Abbas that the US was working to help the Palestinians in a number of areas, including communications and food security, and added that the "Palestinians also have work to do."
"I hope our visit is the start of a new dialogue," Biden said, noting unemployment, a lack of engagement in civil society, and rampant corruption.
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