The letter was initiated by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia), Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), who is Jewish. It welcomed the administration’s initial release of aid for the Palestinians as well as its inclusion in the next fiscal year’s budget. The lawmakers urged Biden to quickly reopen the US consulate in east Jerusalem to deal with Palestinians who live there, while insisting that Hamas should stop rocket attacks on Israel, and that the president should emphasize the need for a two-state solution.
The lawmakers also suggested that the president consider Israeli settlements to be illegal, and suggesting the occupation of the West Bank is also illegal. It may be recalled that the UN General Assembly in 1947 set aside Jerusalem as a corpus separatum, or separate body. Meanwhile, I received another communication from Democratic lawmaker Rashida Tlaib, who was born in Detroit and whose parents are Palestinian. She said Israel is reportedly using US taxpayer dollars to demolish houses and businesses of Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, on July 3, the Israel Air Force targeted a weapons-manufacturing facility in that Gaza Strip from where Hamas has been launching incendiary balloons. Tension has increased between Palestinians and Israeli security forces over the demolition of a Palestinian business in east Jerusalem. A senior UN official in the region expressed “sadness” over the demolition and warned that many other homes and businesses could face the same fate. Israel’s policy of destroying Palestinian property, the official said, is not compatible with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on May 25 in Ramallah, and informed him that the Biden administration would ask Congress for $75 million in development and economic assistance for the Palestinians while also providing $5.5 million for development in the Gaza Strip, apart from $32 million from the US to the UN Relief and Works Agency.
Meanwhile, a unity government in Israel now includes an Arab political party for the first time. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is reportedly the most dedicated opponent of an independent Palestinian state. Centrist Yair Lapid is in favor of a two-state solution, as is Labor Party head Merav Michaeli and members of the Ra’am Party.
Having said that, a dismal picture emerges from the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose president, Mahmoud Abbas, canceled elections in May after the PLO failed to hold elections for the last 15 years. This has caused annoyance among Palestinians. For 72 years the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has affected the Middle East. Tension between Fatah and Hamas has dominated Palestinian politics since 2006, when Hamas was victorious in the election to the Palestine Legislative Council, ending the era of Fatah’s dominance.
Saudi Arabia tried to broker a deal to resolve the crisis between Fatah and Hamas but failed. Hamas has now tilted toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. That was a poor decision in the context of the dispute between Israel and Iran. Therefore, both Fatah and Hamas should make efforts to remain united for the sake of a future Palestinian state, since a favorable climate has been developing in the US for a two-state solution.
The writer is a retired diplomat from Bangladesh and former president of the Nova Toastmaster International Club of America. He lives in Falls Church, Virginia.