U.S. President Joe Biden rejected a request from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week, sources said on Wednesday.
When Abbas and his aides were discussing whether to visit the UN in person, they decided to check the possibility of meeting Biden on the sidelines in New York or soon afterward in Washington.
Accordingly, the White House told the Palestinians Biden wouldn't be doing any bilateral meetings in New York, claiming that his schedule wouldn't allow for a meeting in Washington, American and Palestinian sources reported.
The sources added that the response made Abbas avoid traveling to New York and send a videotaped speech instead.
Nevertheless, Biden visited New York only briefly, but he did have three bilateral meetings there. The White House declined to comment for this story.
This move could be seen as further proof of how low the Israeli-Palestinian issue is on Biden’s foreign policy priority list.
In his speech at the UN last Tuesday, the American President did stress that he supports a two-state solution, but acknowledged that “we are a long way from that goal at this moment."
On his part, Abbas warned in his own speech that Israel's actions would result in a "one-state solution," and he gave Israel a one-year ultimatum to end its occupation of the West Bank, after which time the Palestinians would consider withdrawing their recognition of Israel on the 1967 lines.
Moreover, he indirectly criticized U.S. policy toward Israel, saying, “There are some countries that refuse to acknowledge the reality that Israel is an occupying power, practicing apartheid and ethnic cleansing."
"These countries proudly state that they have shared values with Israel. What shared values are you referring to? This has emboldened Israel, only furthering its arrogance and allowing it to reject and violate all UN resolutions."
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