Save for Mahmoud Abbas himself, who clings to the notion that Biden will fulfill his promises, made during the campaign, to reopen the “consulate to the Palestinians” in Jerusalem and to reopen as well the PLO office in Washington – both of which Trump had closed – most Palestinians expect little from Biden’s upcoming visit. A report on the generally pessimistic views of the Palestinians is here: “Palestinians warn against pinning hopes on Biden visit,” by Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, June 23, 2022:
Palestinian officials are scheduled to hold meetings in Ramallah over the next 48 hours to discuss US President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to the region, and the Israeli “escalation” in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
By “escalation,” the Palestinians mean Israel’s series of raids in Jenin, and elsewhere in the West Bank and Jerusalem, to arrest Palestinians behind the recent series of terrorist attacks. As soon as those terrorists are arrested or neutralized, and the terrorist attacks stop, those IDF raids will also stop. It’s up to the PA and Hamas to decide.
The meetings of the PLO Executive Committee and Fatah Central Council will be chaired by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has expressed hope that Biden’s visit would help create a “political horizon” between the Palestinians and Israel.
“US President Biden will visit us, and I will ask him only one thing – to fulfill what he promised.”
Abbas also expressed hope that Biden would fulfill his promises to the Palestinians, especially regarding reopening the US Consulate in Jerusalem, which was closed by the Trump administration in 2018.…
Abbas apparently doesn’t realize that the Biden Administration, much as it would like to appease the Palestinians, cannot just reopen the “consulate to the Palestinians.” The Vienna Convention on Foreign Relations (1963) requires the consent of the “receiving party” — that is, the country in which the consulate will be placed. That country is Israel, and it has already made clear that it refuses to give its consent.
“US President Biden will visit us, and I will ask him only one thing: to fulfill what he promised,” Abbas said earlier this week. “I will not ask him for anything new. I will only ask him to implement what he and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken promised.”
Abbas said that he will also demand the removal of the PLO from the US list of terrorist organizations, and that there was no reason why the US should not comply with the request, especially since it has a security agreement with the Palestinians to combat global terrorism….
Having just declared that he would not be asking “anything new” of Biden, Abbas then does exactly that, saying he will also “demand” the removal of the PLO from the US list of terrorist organizations, something he had not asked before.
“We hope that this visit would strengthen our bilateral relations and contribute to preparing the atmosphere for creating a political horizon that achieves a just and comprehensive peace based on the foundations of international legitimacy, and on the basis of the two-state solution on the 1967 borders,” Abbas said.…
No Israeli government will ever agree to having the Jewish state squeezed back within the 1949 armistice lines, which is what Abbas means when he speaks of the “1967 borders.” That would leave Israel stripped of its control of the Jordan Valley, so necessary for its defense, and of the Golan, which prevents a potential Syrian invasion from the north, and force it to live with a nine-mile wide waist from Qalqilya to the sea.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), one of the PLO factions, also warned against pinning high hopes on Biden’s visit.
“Biden administration has breached all the promises it made to the Palestinians, including reopening the PLO mission in Washington, dropping it from the terrorism list, and resuming aid to the Palestinian Authority,” the DFLP said….
First, the Biden Administration never promised to drop the PLO from the list of terrorist groups. Second, it has resumed aid to the PA ; the DFLP appears to have overlooked that delivery of $270 million so far this year, and of several hundred million dollars as well to UNRWA.
Essam Bakr, a member of the Palestinian National Council, the PLO’s legislative body, warned that Biden’s visit “carries great risks for the future of the national cause of the Palestinian people.
A senior official with the Palestinian People’s Party, formerly the Palestinian Communist Party, Bakr claimed that the visit aims to facilitate the “integration” of Israel into the region. He too expressed opposition to the talk about “improving the living conditions of the Palestinians as an alternative to achieving the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people.”
These well-off, because corrupt, officials like Essam Bakr don’t care if the “Palestinian people” live wretched lives; they don’t want their standard of living to be improved, for fear that they will be content with that, instead of continuing to sacrifice for the Cause of Palestine.
Here’s what I think Biden will do on his whirlwind trip to the Middle East. He will quickly visit in Jerusalem, keenly aware that the Israeli government is still in flux, and there is no point engaging in substantive talks with someone who might not be in office after the October elections. He will trot out his usual platitudes about our “unbreakable bond” and claim, not quite accurately I’m afraid, that “we’ve always had Israel’s back.” And of course, he will assure both Israelis and Palestinians of his, and Blinken’s, oft-repeated remark that “Israelis and Palestinians deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, opportunity, and dignity.”
Then it will be on to Bethlehem, where the always needy Abbas will repeat his demands about reopening the consulate, and the PLO office, and removing the PLO from the terrorist list, Biden will listen with growing impatience. He will not repeat his campaign promises, but may instead let Abbas know that there is no possibility of the consulate being reopened in Jerusalem, given that the “receiving party” — Israel — has withheld its consent. Abbas will be furious. Too bad.
Then Biden will move on to the real purpose of the trip, which is to persuade the Saudis to increase their production of oil so as to bring down the price of gasoline at the pump, which Biden needs to happen if his party is to win in the November elections. His visit to the country he once promised to treat as a “pariah” because of the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, should satisfy the Saudis that he has tugged at his forelock sufficiently. He now recognizes he mustn’t antagonize Riyadh, and wordlessly promises he won’t get on their wrong side again. If the Saudis do increase production, it will have been a triumph of Bidenite appeasement. And when oil returns to below $4 a gallon, the Democrats will have a fighting chance.
Walter Sieruk says
With Joe Biden by turning away America’s only good friend of America in the United States by embracing that jihad -minded Muslim chief of the PA , who even has connections with Hamas which had murdered Americans shows Biden is either very sinister and incompetent or treacherous villain.,
As the ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote “The penalty for refusing to take part in politics is to be ruled men inferior to yourself.”
mortimer says
Biden has been caught and documented lying about so many things, that it would be foolhardy to trust practically anything he says.
The Pallies have no bribes to offer Old Joe, so he will have nothing to offer them and if he does, he will forget about it next week and his staff will rewrite history and explain Old Joe’s blatherings away.
Walter Sieruk says
he ancient Greek Philosopher ,Plato , did have a good valid point when he had written “The measure of a man is what he does with power.”
When applying that wise statement to Joe Biden , his “measure” is more than lacking , It’s outright terrible. From international to national issues
From international subject of Biden treachery towards the Jewish State of Israel to the national subject of America and his porous border policy which opens the door for the entrance jihadists of ISIS and al Qaeda as well as very dangerous gangs of hooligans as MS-13 into the United States.
The “measure” Joe Biden is horrendously evil.
Keith O says
One evil bastard making demands of another evil bastard.
And both thinking they have the upper hand.
Pathetic.
It used to surprise me when I heard mudslimes demand a country ignore international and bow down to their will.
Unfortunately, it now happens so often that I’m no longer shocked, just simply disgusted.
Wellington says
The worst of it, Keith O, is that each of these reprobates—destroyers of truth, justice and freedom—to this day think of themselves as good guys.
Both evil and ignorance are so well disguised that they actually fool one another often times. Such is the case with Abbas and Biden. And let’s not forget that Hitler went to his death blaming the German people for not being worthy of him.
gravenimage says
True about Hitler, Wellington–in the last days of the war, he had brave and loyal soldiers of all ranks shot as “traitors” when Germany began losing the war. Insane and evil.
James Lincoln says
Yes, Wellington.
They both actually believe that they are “legends in their own minds”.
gravenimage says
Palestinians Expect Little From Biden’s Visit
………………………….
In this case, I hope those low expectations prove justified.
Wellington says
Me too, gravenimage.
somehistory says
The Jews should hold up signs, “bidon go home..” and like the people in some countries did, hold up signs saying, “you aren’t’ the president.” They won’t, but it would be something to laugh about.
Wellington says
I would advise many Israelis to also hold up signs reading “Let’s Go Brandon.”
Oh yeah, one way or another, in one country or another, drive home the point that Biden is beyond reprehensible, never mind his dementia and overall stupidity—and, also, being that worst of creations, i.e., a life-long politician who has accomplished nothing and who has hurt so many (e.g., Biden in the 1980’s voted to tax Social Security at 50% and then in the 1990’s at 85% even though all along, and to this day, this monumental liar says he’s for the common man).
Show me anyone still supporting Biden and I will show you a fool or someone malevolent. No third option.
somehistory says
I misspelled his name, but I don’t care. He has earned no respect, only disdain.
Wellington says
By any spelling, the man is execrable and ruining America.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
I’m not a CPA, but this is what I understand to be true:
Social Security is a very “progressive” system in that lower income people receive a higher “percentage” benefit based upon what they have paid into the system over the years (referring to Social Security “bend” points).
Also, regarding the taxation of Social Security benefits:
The income thresholds have never been adjusted for inflation, so that every year more people are subjected to the tax.
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/income-taxes-on-benefits.html
The taxation is actually double taxation: The contributions that people make in hopes of receiving a future Social Security benefit are after-tax dollars that were involuntarily taken out of their paycheck. Compare this with a Roth 401(k), contributions are made with after-tax dollars – while withdrawals are tax-free.
Also, some states also tax Social Security benefits.
Wellington says
Thanks for that, James.