Ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to the Palestinian Authority on Friday, Ramallah officials are trying to reach an agreement with the Americans on the joint statement the leaders will issue.
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A senior Palestinian official told Israel Hayom that the PA has asked the Americans to include the issues of reopening the Palestinian affairs consulate in Jerusalem, as well as the removal of the Palestine Liberation Organization from the terrorist blacklist and reinstating the PLO offices in Washington, which were shuttered by the Trump administration.
The Americans, however, are hesitant.
"When we raised the issue, the Americans told us, 'You know we are committed to opening the consulate and the president supports it.' The thing is, the Palestinians want it to be clearly worded [in the statement], with a formal commitment and an actual timetable. There are still some disagreements, and we hope to convince them but so far there is no agreement."
Abbas, the official said, "will underscore the Palestinian principles and the importance of resuming the peace process. He is also expected to stress that the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key to peace and stability in the region.
"From what we understand, Biden will talk about the two-state solution and say the US stands by the Palestinians. Our position is that any attempt to jump over our head to create bridges between Israel and Arab countries without dealing with this issue will not bring us closer to resolving the Palestinian issue."
Abbas also plans to demand the US pressures Israel to prevent settler violence.
The official also described the series of gestures Israel set in place ahead of the American president's visit as "worthless."
"If there's no commitment to a diplomatic horizon, what is all of it worth? It's far below our expectations. Unless there are substantial diplomatic steps, Biden's visit will only make things worse. Things can't go on line this.
"Israel announced the gestures just to please the Americans ahead of Biden's arrival and to pretend it's giving us something.
"If Israel and America were serious about their intentions, they would announce the opening of all crossing 24 hours a day, no more IDF entering areas A and B, and promoting a diplomatic horizon," he asserted.
"Israel didn't even announce a halt to construction plans in east Jerusalem – only a delay until after Biden's visit. That's not serious."
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