Washington

- The official US position on the assassination of colleague Shireen Abu Akleh is a mirror of President Joe Biden's position on the Palestinian issue in general.

The US administration, as stated by its foreign minister, Anthony Blinken, contented himself with calling for an investigation into the assassination of Abu Aqila, while offering condolences to her family.

Washington shamefully criticized Israel's use of force and attacks on mourners during the funeral ceremony of this journalist without asking Israel to do anything or change its policy, despite Abu Aqila holding American citizenship. Joint investigations into the accident.

Inexpensive passive attitude

Biden does not stop discussing "urgent mechanisms to stop violence and call for calm and reduce tensions in Israel and the West Bank," as stated in the White House statement after meeting President Abdullah II of Jordan last Thursday.

Although Biden and members of his administration reiterated "strong support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the need to preserve the historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount."

But this position is not translated into taking any practical measures on the part of Washington, at a time when the US President does not show any enthusiasm or willingness to put forward any vision or initiative to get out of the deadlock related to the course of settling the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

The US administration has chosen to focus on "the political and economic benefits of further regional integration in infrastructure, energy, water and climate projects" among the countries of the region, ignoring the Palestinian issue.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Daniel Kreutzer, the former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel, and currently a lecturer at Princeton University, indicated that "Biden is very cautious, and he hated taking risks in all issues related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

The President's administration has resumed providing some aid to the Palestinians, but it has not retreated from Trump's negative policies, for example reopening the US Consulate in occupied Jerusalem, "Biden's domestic and foreign policy priorities are broad, and Israel and Palestine are not a priority at the moment."


No to pressure on Israel

The Biden administration claimed that it had made efforts to improve relations with the Palestinians, and indeed Washington resumed providing some of the aid that the former president had frozen to the Palestinians.

In a hearing held in March last year before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the foreign minister stated that his country was obligated to seek to advance the prospects for a two-state solution, saying that “ultimately the only way that Israel will be truly secure as a Jewish and democratic state, and the Palestinians will have the state.” that they deserve."

Ambassador David Mack, former Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, indicated in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that "Biden is very cautious about pressuring Israel for greater action on Palestinian statehood issues, or imposing restrictions on Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank." Western".

"For now, Biden has not moved forward with his pledge to reopen the US Consulate General in East Jerusalem. In practical terms, the resumption of US humanitarian support for Palestinian refugees is the major change in US policy after the setbacks under the Trump administration."

At the same time, Biden confirmed that "our embassy will remain in Jerusalem, which we recognize as the capital of Israel. The final status of Jerusalem is a final status issue that will need to be resolved by both parties in the context of direct negotiations."


Empty pledges

During his election campaign, Biden pledged to reopen the US consulate in Jerusalem, and his foreign minister repeated several times that his country would "move forward with the process of opening the East Jerusalem consulate in the context of deepening these relations with the Palestinians."

So far, Biden has complied with the Israelis' refusal to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem as a window to manage relations with the Palestinians, and he has not taken any steps towards resuming negotiations for the two-state solution that he claims to be seeking.

A report issued by the Congressional Research Service notes that the Biden administration's relations with the Palestinians revolve around five main issues, namely:

Resuming aid and reaffirming support for the two-state solution in the end, researching the feasibility of reopening some American diplomatic offices in Jerusalem and the Palestinian ones in Washington, reconstruction in Gaza in the wake of the recent Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza, pressure to stop building settlements in the West Bank, how to respond On Palestinian procedures in international forums, including the International Criminal Court.

Ambassador Mac said in his speech to Al Jazeera Net that "the opposition among some members of Congress continues to hinder the administration's desire to be more willing to understand Palestinian concerns."

And that the recent death of an American citizen of Palestinian origin (Abu Aqila) at the hands of the Israelis may contribute to changes in attitudes toward Israel and Palestine, "but the main obstacles to any resumption of the peace process are the powerless governments of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

Meanwhile, other issues, both domestic and foreign, are high on Biden's agenda.

His upcoming visit to Israel and his meeting with Mahmoud Abbas may be occasions to make progress in US policy, "but the obstacles to change are still strong."

As for Ambassador Kreutzer, he told Al Jazeera Net, "There is now almost no realistic possibility to revive the peace process. The leaders in both Israel and Palestine are not interested in, and are preoccupied with, internal issues and politics."

Thus, the position of Biden and his administration towards the killing of Abu Aqila, an American citizen, coincides with his administration's negative and documented record regarding the rights of Palestinians in general.