The Biden administration has now had more official contacts with Palestinian officials in the first two weeks than the Trump administration has had in its last three years.
Why it matters: The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel-Palestine, Hady Amr, spoke by telephone to several Palestinian officials on Monday. It was the first publicly-announced interaction between the parties as the Biden administration moves to renew ties that have been effectively broken since Donald Trump announced in December 2017 that he was moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
What they say: ‘We discussed bilateral relations, the latest developments and politics. It was a positive conversation. It was agreed to continue with the communication, ‘Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh tweeted after meeting with Amr.
The whole picture: The Biden government intends to reverse much of Trump’s policy toward Israel-Palestine.
- According to officials from the Biden administration, the US will resume Palestinian aid and reopen the office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Washington as well as the consulate in Jerusalem.
- The government of Biden will oppose the annexation, establishment of the settlement and the demolition of Palestinian homes by Israel.
Note: Amr will be one of the key players in shaping Israeli-Palestinian government policy. He is highly respected by Palestinian officials, who consider him a balanced actor.
- The Biden government does not plan to appoint a special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and the issue will mostly be handled by the state department.
The latest: Palestinian news website Amad reported on Saturday that Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and director of Palestinian intelligence Majed Faraj also spoke to Amr by telephone.
- Shtayyeh confirmed that they had discussed the US embassy in Jerusalem and the reopening of the PLO office in Washington, along with the renewal of US financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.