US presidential election: Palestinian leaders hope for Biden's victory
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a press conference in Ramallah on November 11, 2019. AP Photo / Majdi Mohammed
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3 min
In 2016, between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the Palestinian leaders said they had no preference.
Usual neutral position in the face of a vote by the sponsor of the peace process with Israel.
But over the past four years, the Trump administration has taken a stance the Palestinians consider hostile: recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, supporting colonization, closing diplomatic representation in Washington.
Today, the leaders do not hide their preference for a victory of Joe Biden.
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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,
Guilhem Delteil
Since the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017, exchanges between the
Trump administration
and the Palestinian leadership have only taken place through the media.
And often they include a few names of birds.
After three years of confrontation with Washington, the Palestinian leadership hopes to be able to reestablish a dialogue with a Biden presidency.
"
The Palestinians, and particularly the president, are betting on Biden,
" said Hani Al Masri, director of the Ramallah-based Masarat think tank.
Biden said he wanted to resume relations with the Palestinians, that he was against annexing part of the West Bank and that he wanted to restart negotiations.
"
A wait-and-see policy in Ramallah
The prospect of a victory for the Democratic candidate is the hope that the Palestinian leadership has clung to for several months now.
And hope has become a strategy in itself, deplores Hani Al Masri: “
To wait and survive has been Mahmoud Abbas' policy from the start.
Wait for the American election, wait for Israeli elections, wait for an evolution in the Arab world or within the international community.
But to be influential you have to be active.
"
Whether it is over a financial standoff with Israel, the search for a new diplomatic strategy or reconciliation with Hamas in power in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian leaders are awaiting the results of the poll on Tuesday, November 3 to take decisions. decisions.
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Read also: Palestinians struggling with the Israeli diplomatic normalization strategy
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