President Biden reversed several policies put in place by former President Trump by reiterating his support for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians on Friday and announcing intentions to increase financial help to the Palestinian people, Fox News informed.
After spending time with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Thursday, Biden traveled to Bethlehem in the West Bank. There, he held a meeting with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and some other top Palestinian officials before going to visit the Church of the Nativity, which Christians believe to be the location of Jesus’ birth.
The president made mention of his administration’s plans to put into place a number of economic and confidence-building measures aimed at improving the quality of life for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza during his remarks, but he refrained from denouncing Palestinian terrorism, which has in the past thwarted peace efforts and sparked numerous rounds of violence with Israel.
Among the actions announced Friday, Biden said a new wave of U.S. aid will go toward enhancing Palestinians’ access to technology and health care, as well as backing plans to install 4G networks in Gaza and the West Bank, which had previously been thwarted by Israeli security concerns.
In addition, the president said that the United States would contribute more money to UNRWA, a contentious U.N. organization that supports and promotes the rights of Palestinian refugees, by $200 million, making it the largest donor nation.
In 2018, Trump cut off U.S. financing for the organization, which Israel frequently accuses of being the only U.N. agency that does not successfully resettle refugees. As a result, the number of Palestinian refugees increased and the instability in the region persisted.
Israel claimed that the organization’s educational facilities support terrorism against Israel.
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