U.S. restores relations with Palestinians

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that the U.S. is restoring relations with the Palestinians and will resume supporting assistance programs that deliver humanitarian aid to refugees, a reversal from former President Donald Trump's policies.

Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills said the new policy is "the best way to ensure Israel's future as a democratic and Jewish state while upholding the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations for a state of their own and to live with dignity and security."

During the Trump administration, the U.S. stopped making contributions to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which provides education, health care, and aid to Palestinian refugees; shuttered the Washington office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization; and submitted a peace proposal leaving Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which was rejected by the Palestinians.

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Mills said under the Biden administration, "the policy of the United States will be to support a mutually agreed two-state solution, one in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state." Both sides are being urged to "avoid unilateral steps that make a two-state solution more difficult, such as annexation of territory, settlement activity, demolitions, incitement to violence, and providing compensation for individuals in prison for acts of terrorism," Mills added.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said now is "the time to heal and repair the damage left by the previous U.S. administration. We look forward to the reversal of the unlawful and hostile measures undertaken by the Trump administration and to working together for peace."