The chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen, this evening (Saturday) hosted in his office in Ramallah the American delegation headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf.
The meeting dealt with recent developments "and the serious situation that has reached the events in the Palestinian territories, as well as the ongoing Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people," the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Abu Mazen stressed at the meeting that the Palestinian leadership was about to take steps to deal with "the Israeli escalation, in view of the inability of the international community to force Israel to comply with UN resolutions, and in view of the American silence on Israeli actions and provocations."
He also stressed the need to remove the PLO from the list of U.S. terrorist organizations and reopen the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem, and the PLO offices in Washington.
The American delegation in Ramallah, Photo: Wafa News Agency
"Our goal is to get rid of the occupation in accordance with the UN resolutions," Abu Mazen noted, emphasizing that "East Jerusalem was and will remain the eternal capital of the State of Palestine. Our national principles are not bargaining. And UN resolutions.
"This is in addition to the continuation of unilateral actions, especially in Jerusalem, including the aggression on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by groups of extremist settlers, in what constitutes a violation of the historic status quo, as well as the continued expulsion of Palestinians from Jerusalem neighborhoods, demolition and killing our people."
The Wafa News Agency said Leaf stressed the Biden administration's commitment to a two-state solution, noting that the US delegation's mission is to strengthen the partnership and relations between the Palestinian Authority and the United States and to prepare for a visit by the US president. "The right environment to give hope to the Palestinians and the peoples of the region," Leaf said, according to "Wafa."
On Tuesday, a senior PA official, Hussein a-Sheikh, met with Hadi Amar, the holder of the Palestinian file at the US State Department.
The two discussed the issue of the consulate, with in the background, the US administration's decision earlier this week to establish a direct communication channel with the Palestinian side through the Ministry of Palestinian Affairs at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
