Sheree Trotter: What Biden's visit achieved for Israel and Palestinians

US President Joe Biden watches Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid sign a security pledge at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem. Photo / Atef Safadi, Pool via AP

Opinion

OPINION

US President Joe Biden recently completed a whirlwind trip to the Middle East, spending two days in Israel on the way to Riyadh.

Much of the media's focus has been directed toward the Saudi leg of his trip; the fist pump, the Khashoggi controversy, the desire for expanded oil production to lower gas prices and a concern to prevent any vacuum in the region to be filled by China and/or Russia.

But what was the significance of the Israel-Palestine leg?

This was Biden's first trip to the Middle East as President and he was unequivocal in affirming the United States' commitment to Israel. The 79-year-old statesman boasted that he had met every Prime Minister since Golda Meir and recalled her comments to him as a young man concerning Israel's secret weapon: "We have nowhere else to go".

While Biden exuded warmth towards the Jewish nation, even declaring himself a Zionist, only time will tell how these sentiments will translate into action. His views on Israel are somewhat out of step with the predominant Democrat view. A recent Pew Research poll indicates that Democrats have tilted toward greater support for the Palestinians. In addition, Israel faces outright hostility from a vocal core group of Democrats.

High on Israel's agenda for Biden's visit was the threat from Iran and its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza. Biden and interim PM Yair Lapid signed the Jerusalem US-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration in which the US affirmed its commitment "to preserve and strengthen Israel's capability to deter its enemies".

While the previous five US presidents have stated that Iran must not get a nuclear weapon, Biden took a significant additional step. He declared that the US is prepared to use "all elements of its national power" to ensure that outcome. He did not, however, outline specific measures in terms of red lines and deadlines for action and instead emphasized diplomacy.

Likely as a result of the perceived Iranian threat, the region has seen an emerging architecture of regional security and economic alliances in recent times. Amongst them, the Abraham Accords, the Negev Summit and most recently the I2U2 Summit, between Israel, the United States, the UAE and India, connecting the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.

The Abraham Accords, established in 2020, led the way and has been strongly endorsed by Biden for its role in deepening Israel's integration into the broader region and establishing business, cooperation, and tourism ties.

It appears that many Palestinians have also responded positively to the Abraham Accords. A Washington Institute poll conducted in June 2022, found that of the Arab populations interviewed, the least likely to express a negative viewpoint of the Abraham Accords were the Palestinians.

A majority of Palestinians expressed openness to some form of contact with Israelis — with 60 percent of those in the West Bank, 62 percent of Gazans and 84 percent of those in eastern Jerusalem agreeing that Palestinians should engage in "direct personal contacts and dialogue with Israelis, in order to help the Israeli peace camp advocate a just solution" to the conflict.

Sheree Trotter. Photo / Supplied

While this bodes well for a future peace agreement, much work is needed on the ground. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has lost credibility with his people with nearly 80 per cent of Palestinians wanting his resignation. There has not been a free election in the West Bank since 2006, when Fatah lost control of Gaza, to the Islamic terror group Hamas. In 2021, Abbas cancelled scheduled elections when it appeared likely that Hamas would win.

Biden pledged a number of measures to improve Palestinians' daily lives, such as 24 hour opening of the Allenby crossing and a 4G network by the end of 2023. While the promise of $201m for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees sounded generous, it represented a 15 per cent drop from the pre-Trump years. Biden stopped short of offering what Abbas really wanted: recognition of the state of Palestine by "enabling the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights and with ending the Israeli occupation of our land", stating that the "time was not ripe".

Biden re-affirmed his commitment to a two-state solution, but urged the Palestinians to work "to improve governance, transparency, and accountability", to "combat corruption and advance rights and freedoms, improve community services" in order to "build a society that can support a successful democratic future and a future Palestinian state."

Palestinian commentator and former Palestinian Cabinet Member Hassan Asfour complained that "Biden is so weak he could not even come up with a plan for us to reject".

As for Hamas, its response to Biden's visit was to launch rockets into southern Israel. After Biden's departure, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh declared,

"The Palestinian nation will never again fall to the illusions of negotiations that harmed the Palestinian issue. Our choice is to continue resisting until the occupation ends."

The rocket fire came shortly after Biden had announced a number of commitments in Riyadh; the transfer of a pair of Red Sea islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, Israeli airlines to overfly Riyadh en route to the Far East, and the Saudis allowing direct charter flights from Israel for Muslim pilgrims.

It appears there is still much distance between those seeking normalisation with Israel and those unwilling to embrace a change of mindset. One would hope that the progressive voices pursuing peace and normalisation with Israel will drown out those intent on continuing hostility.

• Sheree Trotter is director of the Israel Institute New Zealand and an academic with a PhD in history from University of Auckland.