JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — President Joe Biden made an appeal to the legacy of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to put an end to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but he conceded that the “ground is not ripe” at this time for negotiations.
“Above all, there must be an end to the violence that has devastated too many families,” Biden said during remarks in Bethlehem on Friday, adding that “the United States has suffered loss as well, including with Shireen Abu Akleh.”
BIDEN TO MEET PALESTINIAN LEADERS AFTER RAISING SETTLEMENT CONCERNS WITH ISRAEL
Looking out from the podium, Biden faced a photograph of Abu Akleh with an Arabic overlay that called her “the voice of Palestine,” a reminder to the president as he attempted to soothe upset Palestinians following the U.S. response to the killing.
Biden made the comments while standing alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after a bilateral meeting in Bethlehem on the third day of his trip to the Middle East.
In brief remarks, the president reiterated his call for Israeli and Palestinian states alongside each other while acknowledging the far-off prospect of new talks that might reach a final accord.
“I know that the goal of two states seems so far away,” Biden said, but “we can’t allow the hopelessness to steal away the future … even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations.”
Biden continued: “The Palestinian people are hurting now. You feel — you can just feel it, your grief and frustration. … But we never give up on the word peace.”
Speaking to reporters Thursday, a senior administration official reiterated that the U.S. had found nothing to suggest her killing had been intentional.
“We’ve put out publicly what we believe the facts to be,” the official said. “We have encouraged the Israelis to finalize and publicize their report as soon as possible.”
Still, calls for the president to meet with the journalist’s family while in the region went unheeded, though officials noted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked them to travel to Washington.
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The fifth U.S. president to visit the West Bank, Biden also used his remarks to call for reforms in the Palestinian territories, where the leadership has repeatedly failed to hold elections.
He is visiting Saudi Arabia on this trip in addition to Israel and the West Bank.
