PA prime minister congratulates Biden, says ready for ‘immediate engagement’

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh congratulates US President-Elect Joe Biden on his electoral victory, saying that the Palestinian leadership is ready for “immediate engagement” with the United States if their conditions are met.

“We look forward to constructive bilateral US-Palestinian relations towards achieving a just and lasting peace within the frame of two states and ending the Israeli occupation,” Shtayyeh says in a tweet. “President Mahmoud Abbas is ready for immediate engagement when there is a partner and a serious process with clear terms of reference.”

The PA has boycotted Washington since US President Donald Trump’s 2017 declaration that the American embassy would move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Relations between the two sides have been sour for years: the Trump administration cut aid, expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization’s envoy to Washington, and formulated a peace plan which the Palestinians saw as firmly pro-Israel.

I congratulate President-elect Joe Biden & Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for winning the elections and the trust of the American people. We look forward to constructive bilateral US-Palestinian relations towards achieving a just and lasting peace (1/2)

— Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh د. محمد اشتية (@DrShtayyeh) November 8, 2020

Biden has said he will reverse some of the Trump administration’s policies, including restoring the PLO mission in the American capital.

The Palestinian leadership hopes that the incoming Biden administration will place the Palestinian cause “on their list of priorities,” Shtayyeh says in another statement from today.

Shtayyeh concludes that Ramallah hopes to strengthen its bilateral ties with the United States “without any connection to Israel.”

— Aaron Boxerman