A US delegation headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs Andrew Miller held talks in Ramallah on Wednesday with PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh and other Palestinian Authority officials.
After the visit, Palestinian officials said there was no real change in the US administration’s position toward the latest developments surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The officials said that in light of Washington’s stance, they will continue the diplomatic and legal campaign against Israel in international forums.
The talks in Ramallah came amid increased disappointment in Ramallah with the US administration’s failure to exert pressure on Israel to halt its “unilateral” measures in the West Bank, especially regarding settlement construction and daily military incursions into Palestinian communities.
Speaking to reporters in Ramallah on Thursday, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki echoed the disappointment of the Ramallah-based leadership with the US administration, which he described as “weak.”
Malki and other senior PA officials pointed out that the US administration has failed to fulfill promises it had made to the Palestinians, such as the reopening of the US Consulate in Jerusalem and the PLO diplomatic mission in Washington, DC.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein al-Sheikh in Ramallah in the West Bank January 31, 2023. (credit: MAJDI MOHAMMED/POOL VIA REUTERS)The officials have also repeatedly criticized the US and the international community for failing to put pressure on Israel to halt settlement construction and military incursions into Palestinian communities as part of the IDF’s ongoing counter-terror operation.
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Malki said the Palestinian leadership was planning to pursue its diplomatic and legal campaign against Israel in the international arena, including the International Criminal Court.
Malki expressed hope that Saudi Arabia would not bow to US pressure and sign a normalization agreement with Israel. Reports concerning a possible breakthrough in efforts to persuade the Saudis to normalize their relations with Israel have worried some Palestinian officials, who said earlier this week that they received assurances from Riyadh that such a move would not happen in the foreseeable future.
Sheikh, who is seen by some Palestinians as a leading candidate to succeed PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said he asked the US delegation to “put pressure on the Israeli government to stop all unilateral measures and find a political horizon that leads to ending the occupation and to implement international legitimacy,” a reference to United Nations resolutions pertaining to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Sheikh said he also emphasized during the meeting Israel’s “non-compliance” with the results of the two summits held since the beginning of the year in Jordan’s Aqaba city and Egypt’s Sharm al-Sheikh resort.
At the summits, held in February and March and by Jordanian, Egyptian, and US officials, Israel and the Palestinians affirmed their commitment to all previous agreements between them, and to work towards a just and lasting peace. They also reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence, as well as working to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months.
The Israelis and Palestinians also reaffirmed their commitment to advancing security, stability, and peace and agreed to develop a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement, and inflammatory statements and actions.
Sheikh told the US delegation that Israel’s policy of settlement construction and home demolitions “undermines the two-state solution, which is one of the principles of the current US administration.”
“The Palestinian-American bilateral issues were discussed, and how to bypass the unfair laws against the Palestinians in the US Congress,” Sheikh said, referring to the 2018 Taylor Force Act that stops American economic aid to the PA until it ceases paying stipends to individuals who commit acts of terrorism and to the families of slain attackers.
The PLO official added that he discussed with the US delegation the financial crisis of the PA “in light of the cessation of US support and the continuation of Israeli deductions from the PA’s funds.”
The Palestinians say Israel has deducted hundreds of millions of shekels from the monthly tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA in response to the stipends paid to the security prisoners and the families of the deceased assailants.
During his visit to the West Bank, Miller met with residents of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, and heard from them about the recent settler violence against the town. Many of the town’s residents are US citizens.
“Miller reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the US to promoting equal measures of freedom, justice, dignity, and prosperity for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” according to the US Office of Palestinian Affairs.
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