As he had announced during the presidential campaign, Joe Biden, now installed in the White House for ten days, is increasing the messages aimed at reconnecting with the Palestinians, who had cut ties with his predecessor.

Donald Trump was accused of having modeled American diplomacy on the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Hebrew state, and legitimizing settlement in the West Bank.

Palestinian officials, who logically expected a rebalancing of US diplomacy in the region, welcomed on Wednesday (January 27th) the new administration's intention to reopen the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington, closed under Donald Trump, like the American Consulate General in East Jerusalem, which served as an embassy to the Palestinians.

In recent days, several West Bank-based officials had expressed optimism in the local press, trusting that the PA had received "assurances" that Joe Biden would reverse some of the decisions relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Commitment to the two-state solution

"The new American administration wants to distance itself from the many decisions taken by President Trump, which it considers harmful for the interests of the United States in the region, analyzes Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the think tank Arab Center Washington DC, contacted by France 24. And that certainly passes, as the Biden camp suggested, by diplomatic readjustments which will have an impact in the long term, aiming in particular to restore the dialogue with the Palestinians, and to pave the way for a resumption of the negotiations. around the Israeli-Palestinian issue. "

The message from the White House that the new President of the United States remains very committed to the "two-state solution" - the classic position of American diplomacy before the Trump era - has also reached the Palestinians.

This solution "remains the only way forward" to reach a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

"The president agrees with me that the best way, perhaps the only way to secure Israel's future as a democratic Jewish state, and to give the Palestinians the state to which they are entitled, is the solution said to two states ", had for its part affirmed, on January 19, the one who is now the head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.

"The reopening of the consulate for East Jerusalem, that of the PLO office in Washington and the commitment to a two-state solution are welcome positive signs," Jibril Rajoub, senior Fatah party official told AFP , the formation of the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

As part of a peace plan, dubbed the "deal of the century" and developed by Jared Kushner, son-in-law and diplomatic adviser to Donald Trump, Washington last year proposed to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. , after judging that they were not contrary to international law.

An approach that could have compromised the creation of a continuous Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

"We hope that the new administration will brandish a red card in the face of unilateral and expansionist Israeli measures on the ground, (...) which undermine any possibility of the emergence of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state," Jibril Rajoub stressed.

According to Richard Mills, the acting American ambassador to the UN, Washington will now work to convince the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to "avoid unilateral measures that make a two-state solution more difficult, such as annexations of territory, colonization activities, demolition, incitement to violence and compensation of persons imprisoned for acts of terrorism ".

"We hope that it will be possible to (...) slowly develop skills on both sides to create an environment in which we can once again be able to help push a solution forward," he continued.

"Biden will not be the savior of the Palestinians"

However, some Palestinian voices are raised to temper the most optimistic expectations on this issue, recalling the privileged relations that the United States maintains with its Israeli ally.

"There is no doubt that the Biden administration will adopt the same American policy towards Israel [as that of Donald Trump], even if it will make slight cosmetic changes," said researcher Alaa Tartir, in a column published by Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network, a think tank based in the United States.

And to add: "Biden will not be the savior of the Palestinians, nor the builder of peace, but he will probably be the savior of what remains of the peace process (…). His administration will spend huge sums of money and a lot of energy just to rekindle it, not to achieve any real and lasting form of peace. "

Long-awaited repercussions on the ground

The fact remains that beyond the diplomatic issues, the change in Washington could quickly have concrete repercussions on the ground.

Acting US Ambassador to the UN Richard Mills said on Tuesday that "the Biden administration intends to restore US assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the people Palestinian".

"We welcome the decision of the Biden administration to restore assistance to the Palestinians and look forward to continuing the dialogue with it on resuming aid to UNRWA", which has been on hold for four years, Tamara al-Rifai, a spokesperson for the United Nations Aid to Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), told AFP.

Citing the "lack of will of the Palestinian leaders for peace negotiations" with Israel, Donald Trump had withdrawn American funding from this UN agency of which Washington was the largest contributor - with an amount of 365 million dollars (about 300 million dollars). 'euros), or nearly 30% of its annual budget.

“Since the Palestinians are no longer willing to talk about peace, why should we pay them massive payments in the future?” He said in 2018.

"Our financial forecast takes into account the expected re-engagement of the US administration, so we expect a little more income than in 2020, but this slightly improved income will not cover the huge debts" of UNRWA, however clarified Tamara al -Rifai.

In November, the agency said it was strapped for cash to pay the November and December salaries of its 28,000 employees, most of them refugees, providing services (education, health care) to more than five million Palestinians spread across camps in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories.

Washington's financial support is crucial for the Palestinians and for the Palestinian Authority, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, as they are so heavily dependent on direct international aid, that is to say in the direction of local institutions, or indirect, for the benefit of the population through UN agencies or NGOs.

This is because of Israeli restrictions and the uncertainties related to the geopolitical situation in the region which weigh on the Palestinian economy.

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