Biden’s Highwire Pilgrimage to the Middle East puts Israel and Saudis First, Leaving Palestinians in the Proverbial Lurch
By: John Mason, Arab America Contributing Writer
Biden’s rhetorical flourishes during his presidential campaign were favorable to the Palestinians. During his recent visit to the M.E., President Biden dashed the hope of Palestinians by giving them almost nothing. Iran and oil dominated the dialogue with Israel and Saudi Arabia. Peace among Israelis and Palestinians has become more and more remote.
SIFR (Zero) for the Palestinians, Biden’s glorious presidential campaign rhetoric swamped by real politics during his M.E. pilgrimage
We’d heard so much beforehand about President Biden’s trip to the Middle East. Now that he has returned, the result is like a depleted balloon—a giant letdown. During his campaign for the presidency, he gave wholehearted support to the Palestinians. He labeled Saudi Arabia a “Pariah” over journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. Now that Biden has been to the M.E., the Palestinians have gotten little to nothing. Conversely, Saudi graduated as a “Strategic Partner.”
Now, suddenly, the murderous regime of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) can do no harm. The White House changed gears on what it had once thought was the abominable murder of Khashoggi. Now, the news source, Arab Center Washington DC (ACW), reported, that an American official had changed tunes. The official noted, “For the sake of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, we need to move past (the Khashoggi murder) it.”
Further condemning the Biden administration’s policy is another AWC opinion. It noted, “Apparently, obeisance to the kingdom simply must be made on account of a global energy crisis and the distant origins of a bilateral relationship whose foundations, however shaky, are usually exempt from questioning.” Resulting from this policy is the dwindling importance of Israel-Palestine peace. That initiative has fallen to the bottom of the list of U.S. priorities. Or, perhaps, off the list.
Very puzzling is why Biden would be willing to accept any of his predecessor’s Trump approach to the peace process. Why would he accept to work around the Palestinians in that process? Wouldn’t that be an oxymoron? Trump didn’t care one iota about the Palestinians and believed the peace process was about Arabs and Israelis doing business together.
Drawing Arab states into direct negotiations with Israel was the new deal. Two-state, one-state solutions to the Palestinian quest for “self-determination” were irrelevant. Jared Kushner—son-in-law and special assistant to the then president—turned the tables. He erased the Palestinians from the equation. Machiavellian? Real Politics? Who cares anyway? The so-called Abraham Accords completely deleted the Palestinians. That Biden would build on this twisted policy is cynical at best. At worst, it was mind-boggling, disturbing, and insulting.
Palestinians get the picture, more disillusioned than ever by Biden’s duplicitous visit
During his visit to Israel and Palestine, President Biden’s ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem was short. As we know, distances between Israel and Palestine are shorter and shorter these days. That is thanks to Israeli compression of space through its acquisition/occupation. On his way, Biden passed an enormous mural. It depicted what the Los Angeles Times (LAT) called “a smiling woman, wearing a flak jacket, yellow paint giving highlights to her chestnut hair.”
That, of course, was a painting of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, shot to death in May, by Israeli forces. The Biden administration’s reaction, according to the LAT, was “a muted condemnation, an inconclusive investigation — is the latest in a long list of grievances Palestinians have with the current U.S. government.”
During Biden’s four-day visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia, Biden’s attention to the occupied West Bank was short-lived. He met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as a courtesy. An Israeli-Palestinian peace arrangement was furthest from his mind. His focus was more on oil and keeping Iran in its place.
Besides, Biden continued to give lip service to a hackneyed idea. That is, he sees the answer to Israel-Palestinian peace as the two-state solution. That would mean Palestine as an independent country sitting side by side with Israel. Biden made it clear that this was not part of his current, much less foreseeable, agenda. To reinforce his point, per the LAT, Biden recited his decades-long litany, “Israel must remain an independent, democratic Jewish state.”
There was another rub in the story of the U.S. government’s view of an independent Palestinian state. It was Biden’s capitulation to the Trump-era declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. That was a controversial position because Palestinians claim part of the contested holy city as their capital of a future state.
Given the political situation in Israel and the ineffectiveness of Palestinian leadership, U.S. administration officials have said there is no space for renewing negotiations. Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas has influenced this impasse. He is 87 and has refused to leave office. Abbas is head of the Palestinian Authority, which does not control the competing authority, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Because Trump’s policies were so pro-Israel, Biden had campaigned on reversing most of them. He talked about reviving the peace process. His enthusiasm raised expectations among the Palestinians. Yet, 18 months into his presidency, Biden has reneged on key promises. Now, Palestinians are more and more disheartened by his deceptions.
After sidelining the Palestinians, Biden leaves behind some crumbs for them
During his West Bank visit, Biden’s team announced several gifts to the Palestinians. First was an initiative to support the Palestinian people. Assistance included: $316 million to improve access to health care and technology; a rollout of 4G digital connectivity to Gaza and West Bank; and bolstering economic growth, reducing food insecurity, and fostering people-to-people dialogue to support peace.
President Biden also visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital in the West Bank. This hospital, among a network of hospitals, has received $85 million from USAID since 2014. Biden also announced a new U.S. contribution of up to $100 million for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network.
President Biden met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to “reaffirm the ties between the Palestinian and American peoples.” Being rhetorically steadfast in his devotion to Palestinians, the President reaffirmed his commitment to a two-state solution and the importance of direct negotiations. Many analysts believe that solution is outmoded, overtaken by the reality of Jewish settlements’ proliferation throughout the occupied territories.
The New York Times summarized in an editorial the pros and cons of Biden’s M.E. visit. Titled, ‘What Biden got right on his trip to the Middle East,’ the editorial is short on any positive outcomes for the Palestinians. “Given the situation in Israel, there is little Mr. Biden can do to breathe life into the moribund peace process…” However, he could have at least reversed some of the more vindictive acts of Trump-Kushner & Co. One of these would have been to reopen the shuttered U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem, which had previously served the Palestinians.
Biden could also have used the continuation of the Trump-driven Abraham Accords as a quid pro quo. These Accords allowed many Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel. Prior to such Accords, however, the Arab countries had steadfastly committed to no official relations with Israel until a peaceful solution had been reached with the Palestinians.
Biden might have at least slowed the Accord process by reigniting peace negotiations. There’s no good time to restart these talks, according to some pundits, but there’s also no time like the present.
Sources:
“Biden’s trip to the Middles East: what is in store,” Arab Center Washington DC, 6/23/2022
“Biden endorses Palestinian state but admits it’s ‘far away,” Los Angeles Times, 7/15/2022
“What Biden got right on his trip to the Middle East,” New York Times editorial, 7/17/2022
“President Joe Biden Should Invite Palestinians to Join the Abraham Accords,” Bishara Bahbah, Arab America, 7/13/2022
John Mason, PhD., who focuses on Arab culture, society, and history, is the author of LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017. He has taught at the University of Libya, Benghazi, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the American University in Cairo; John served with the United Nations in Tripoli, Libya, and consulted extensively on socioeconomic and political development for USAID and the World Bank in 65 countries.
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