WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden government is drawing up a plan to restore US ties with the Palestinians, all of which collapsed under former President Donald Trump, according to an internal draft note.
Two people familiar with the State Department document, first reported by the United Arab Emirates newspaper The National, said it was still in an early “work phase” but could eventually form the basis for the feedback from parts of Trump’s approach that condemns Palestinians as heavily biased in favor of Israel.
Since President Joe Biden took office on January 20, his assistants have said they plan to restore relations with the Palestinians. The administration has promised to resume hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and humanitarian aid and to reopen the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington.
Biden’s assistants have also made it clear that they want to re-establish the goal of a negotiated two-state solution as a priority in US policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But they moved cautiously with the Israeli election on March 23, followed by Palestinian elections planned in the coming months.
A portion of the draft note quoted by The National said the US vision is “to promote freedom, security and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians in the immediate term.”
The document states that $ 15 million in COVID-19 pandemic assistance to the Palestinians could be announced by the end of March. It reportedly takes a tougher stance on Israeli settlement activities and mentions attempts to obtain a Palestinian commitment to end payments to individuals captured (by Israel) for terrorist acts. ‘
One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the document is a preliminary draft subject to review, and that any final version should investigate inter-agency.
“We have no comment on that particular memo,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters during a daily briefing.
Reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington, additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Tel Aviv; edited by Grant McCool