Shtayyeh: US President Biden, Abbas Will Talk on Phone soon

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said that communication channels with the United States of America (USA) have returned.

He indicated that there will be contact between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, soon.

Shtayyeh revealed in a television interview with the Palestinian "Odeh" channel that there were contacts with the American administration, during which a number of files were discussed, in addition to the necessity of the Palestinian issue being present on the American table.

Shtayyeh revealed that it is expected that there will be contact between Abbas and Biden in the near future.

He said that these contacts "are based on one thing as the Palestinians    want the American administration to fulfill its pledges to reopen its consulate in East Jerusalem, reopen the PLO office in Washington, and resume aid, including to the  United Nations  UNRelief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and Jerusalem hospitals."

He added, "We want bilateral relations with the United States, not based on relations with Israel."

The Palestinian Premier  stressed that "the Palestinian leadership is looking forward to an American decree considering the PLO as a basic partner in the peace process, which means abolishing all hostile laws, including a law that considers the PLO a terrorist organization."

On more than one occasion, the Biden administration announced its intention to reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem, open the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington, and resume aid to UNRWA, all of which the Palestinians considered “punitive” taken during the era of former President Donald Trump.

UNRWA is facing a stifling financial crisis, especially after the Trump administration suspended its support to the agency in August 2018, which amounted to about $ 360 million annually, equivalent to half of its budget.

This crisis led to a reduction in the services it provides to about 5.6 million Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, and sacking hundreds of employees.