JERUSALEM, July 15(ABC): US President Joe Biden will meet Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the occupied West Bank Friday, with talks expected to focus on economic measures but without striking any major diplomatic breakthrough.
Bethlehem marks the latest stop on Biden s Middle East tour, following meetings with Israeli officials and ahead of a visit to Saudi Arabia.
With Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations moribund since 2014, a US official said the delegation will make “some significant announcements… such as enhancing Palestinian economic opportunities.”
The US delegation will unveil plans to roll out infrastructure for faster 4G internet across Gaza and the West Bank by the end of next year, fulfilling a longstanding aspiration among Palestinians as some of their Israeli neighbours already tap in to 5G networks.
Biden will also announce a “significant funding package” for hospitals in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the US official said Wednesday, which largely support the Palestinian population.
The US president is due to visit one of those hospitals ahead of his meeting with Abbas, without being accompanied by Israeli officials.
But Biden made clear on Thursday he had no plans to reverse the controversial move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel s capital by his predecessor Donald Trump, which infuriated Palestinians who see its eastern sector as the seat of their future state.