A week before US President Joe Biden's visit to Bethlehem, Palestinian Authority officials are signaling to Israel and the Americans not to give up on kick-starting diplomatic talks. Ahmad al-Deek, a diplomatic adviser to PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki, told Israel Hayom on Thursday that Biden's visit is an opportunity to change the diplomatic situation between Israel and the Palestinians and that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is willing to meet with Prime Minister Yair Lapid to discuss the matter.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
"Our hand is extended to peace, Abbas has not given up. There's an opportunity here to take steps that will build trust between Israel and the Palestinians, and one of them is a meeting between Lapid and Abbas. We hope the Israeli prime minister will initiate such a meeting. We are ready for it to happen. It would be an important sign indicating a desire to open the diplomatic horizon and instill a positive atmosphere. It would positively impact every echelon – both on the diplomatic level and on the ground," said al-Deek.
The Palestinians' expectations from Biden's visit are low. The signals they have received from members of the American delegation with whom they've met to prepare for the visit have been disappointing from Ramallah's perspective and don't portend any dramatic steps on the diplomatic front.
The Americans haven't presented any new initiatives to revive the diplomatic process, and also haven't discussed implementing prior commitments, namely the opening of a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem.
"With [former Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett, there was no chance for anything. He closed the door. He didn't agree to a diplomatic process, nor to a two-state solution, or to meet with Abbas. Shutting down the diplomatic horizon has caused a huge crisis among the Palestinian leadership, which can't explain to the Palestinian public why everything is stuck. Israel needs to know that politics doesn't exist in a vacuum. If Abbas doesn't have any accomplishments in the eyes of the public, things could happen," al-Deek continued, implying that Hamas could grow stronger in such a scenario.
According to al-Deek, the Biden administration has already asked the PA to pause any resolutions recently adopted by the PLO and Fatah, including suspending the Oslo agreements and security cooperation with Israel.
"It can't be that the Palestinian people have to pay for the political situation in Israel due to the weakness of your government. We know the temporary government lacks the authority to return to negotiations, but without a meeting between Abbas and Lapid, and without any real tidings from the US about a diplomatic horizon, we will remain at a dead-end that will force the Palestinian leadership to expedite steps it has thus far refrained from taking," he warned.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
