Washington’s decision to allow the reopening of offices of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the national capital was welcomed by its supporters after they were shut by the former administration. 

An official of the Fatah Party, Jibril Rajoub said, “We welcome the contents of the speech of the US administration’s representative to the (UN) Security Council yesterday. The opening of the East Jerusalem consulate, the reopening of the PLO office in Washington, and the new US administration’s commitment to the two-state solution are welcome positive indicators.”

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Richard Mills, the interim UN envoy of the US said President Biden plans to “restore credible US engagement with Palestinians as well as Israelis.”

Biden intends to “restore US assistance programmes that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people and to take steps to reopen diplomatic missions that were closed by the last US administration,” he added.

In addition to the closure of liaison offices in Washington, the US pulled back its support of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) under former President Donald Trump. 

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Moreover, the Trump administration amplified its support for Israel and took landmark decisions like the declaration of settlements not qualifying as a breach of international law and formally recognising Jerusalem as the national capital of Israel. 

Rajoub said, “We expect that the new administration will raise a red card to the Israeli unilateral expansionist steps on the ground, dictating realities to undermine any possibility for the emergence of a Palestinian independent sovereign state.”