US President Joe Biden will wrap up his visit to the occupied territories this morning with a trip to East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the West Bank, before heading to Saudi Arabia.
At 10:30 a.m. Biden was expected at East Al-Quds, where he would announce a $100 million funding package for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network that treats Palestinians, Israeli media reported.
He would then travel to Bethlehem to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem at 11:30 a.m. He was expected to announce alongside Abbas a package of steps aimed at strengthening the PA, according to Israeli media.
Biden will head back to Ben Gurion Airport for a 3:30 p.m. flight to Jeddah, “though he may make a brief stop on the way at Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity, if time permits,” Israeli media reported.
Biden will have little to offer to Palestine beyond US money which is seen by many commentators as aimed at “buying calm”.
Although he will reiterate his support for an independent Palestinian state, there’s no clear path to one.
Biden acknowledged this week that while he supports a two-state solution, it won’t happen “in the near-term.”
In his speech on Wednesday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed that Biden has nothing to offer for Palestine.
His eminence said that Biden’s visit primarily aims at forcing the Gulf States to export more gas and oil amid the energy shortage due to the Ukrainian conflict.
“Israel’s” security in the region as the Americans reject to offer the Palestinians anything. Talking about the two-state solution comes in the context of compliments exclusively.”
Source: Israeli media
