PA chief Abbas rejects phone call from Blinken, seeks to speak to Biden

Officials working on setting up a phone call between U.S. state secretary's, PA PM Shtayyeh due to the Palestinian president's insistence to talk directly to POTUS
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to accept a phone call from U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken in mid-February, about 1.5 months ago, Kan reported on Thursday.
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    • Abbas reportedly turned down Blinken's phone call due to him wanting to talk with U.S. President Joe Biden directly - a demand that has yet to be satisfied.
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    Anthony Blinken testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be the next U.S. Secretary of State    Anthony Blinken testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be the next U.S. Secretary of State
    U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken
    (Photo: MCT)
    Kan added that U.S. and Palestinian officials are currently working on setting up a phone call between Blinken and PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh.
    Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior member of the PA administration, has also been mentioned as a possible interlocutor for Blinken in Abbas' stead.
    In the run-up to the November 2020 elections in the U.S., the Palestinians placed their bets on Biden after their ties with Washington went sour under former President Donald Trump.
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    US Vice President Joe Biden (R) and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas talk during a meeting at the presidential compound in the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank    US Vice President Joe Biden (R) and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas talk during a meeting at the presidential compound in the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank
    U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (R) and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas talk during a meeting at the presidential compound in the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank
    (Photo: AFP)
    One reason for the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Ramallah was the Trump administration's Peace to Prosperity plan for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which the Palestinian Authority elected to ignore.
    Now, the Biden administration is seeking to rebuild trust with the Palestinians, reportedly allocating some $75 million for economic assistance to the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip.

    Article republished with permission from i24NEWS
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