Biden to restore aid to Palestine

Palestine

Published: 2021-01-27 11:49

Last Updated: 2024-03-26 17:58


Photo: Debby Hill/AP via NPR
Photo: Debby Hill/AP via NPR

A week into his presidency, newly-inaugurated President Biden announced Tuesday that he would restore ties with Palestinian leaders and resume funding to the UNRWA, which was cut off under Trump. 

The acting US ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills announced the changes in a virtual speech, during which he also affirmed the Biden administration's support for a two-state solution. 

The policy diverges greatly from that of Donald Trump, who was a staunch supporter of the Israeli Occupation. Under his administration, Trump shut down the Washington office of the PLO and cut off funding to the UNWRA, in addition to recognizing Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli Occupation, and supporting the construction of illegal Israeli Occupation settlements in the West Bank. 

Mills spoke fondly of the normalization agreements brokered by Trump between the Israeli Occupation and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, which broke decades of Arab policy against such relations until a free Palestinian state was created. 

He also reaffirmed the US' unfailing commitment to the Israeli Occupation. 


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