The US on Thursday pledged $15 million to help feed Palestinians ravaged by Covid-19 in a sign that the Biden administration is looking to repair US-Palestinian relations, which were damaged in the Trump era.
Washington’s envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the cash would help the charity Catholic Relief Services feed the “most vulnerable” people in the West Bank and Gaza, where Covid-19 has weakened strained health services.
“President [Joe] Biden is restoring US assistance programmes that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council on Thursday.
“This assistance will support emergency food assistance, programming to communities facing food insecurity, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Her comments came as Mr Biden's officials seek to reset ties with the Palestinians. Relations collapsed under a Trump administration that repeatedly sided with Israel to the detriment of Palestinians.
The National this month published details from a US government memo called The US Palestinian Reset and the Path Forward on plans for Covid-19 cash assistance and rollbacks of pro-Israel Trump administration positions.
The Trump administration cut funding to Palestinians, recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the US embassy to the city, despite objections from the Palestinians, who seek their own state with a capital in East Jerusalem.
“This urgent necessary aid is one piece of our renewed commitment to the Palestinian people,” said Ms Thomas-Greenfield.
“The aid will help ... Palestinians in dire need, which will bring more stability and security to both Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The Palestinians seek an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, all territory captured by Israel in 1967. The Biden administration has reaffirmed the US commitment to a two-state solution.
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epa08360794 Palestinians walk in empty street inside al-Tujjar caravanserai in the West Bank city of Nablus, 13 April 2020. Nablus was closed due to the current novel coronavirus emergency after the Palestinian National Authority (PA) has imposed a new 14-day period of home confinement for all Palestinians living in the West Bank amid the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH -
epa08362541 Palestinians deliver food for patients and health workers at three quarantine centres in the West Bank city of Nablus, 14 April 2020. Nablus was closed due to the current novel coronavirus emergency after the Palestinian National Authority (PA) has imposed a new 14-day period of home confinement for all Palestinians living in the West Bank amid the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH -
A member of Palestinian Civil Defence wears a face shield as he takes part in a drill for dealing with coronavirus cases, amid concerns about the spread of the disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman -
epa08362952 Palestinians fly a kite from their home roof over a neighborhood of the West Bank City of Nablus, 14 April 2020. Nablus was closed due to the current novel coronavirus emergency after the Palestinian National Authority (PA) has imposed a new 14-day period of home confinement for all Palestinians living in the West Bank amid the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH -
The head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Bethlehem Bishop Theofilactos leaves the Church of the Nativity to receive the Holy Fire as the ceremony is celebrated without a crowd due to the coronavirus disease restrictions in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma -
A Palestinian girl looks out of her family apartment during a home-confinement order imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman -
A Palestinian groom, Rafeh Qassim, wears a mask as he sits in a car with his bride on their wedding day amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY -
A member of Palestinian Civil Defence on a truck sprays disinfectants during a drill for dealing with coronavirus cases, amid concerns about the spread of the disease (COVID-19), in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman -
epa08380077 Medical staff of the Palestinian health ministry checks the temperature of workers crossing the checkpoint of Mitar, near the West Bank town of Hebron, 23 April 2020. The instructions of the National Authority Ministry of Health forbid gatherings and movement between cities to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease. EPA/ABED AL HASHLAMOUN -
epa08380080 Medical staff of the Palestinian health ministry takes a swab sample from a worker crossing the checkpoint of Mitar, near the West Bank town of Hebron, 23 April 2020. The instructions of the National Authority Ministry of Health forbid gatherings and movement between cities to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease. EPA/ABED AL HASHLAMOUN -
Dr Hani Abdin, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Palestinian Al-Quds University, speaks during an interview at the campus in Abu Dis in the West Bank on April 23, 2020, as he showcases a respirator device built on campus and certified by Palestinian health authorities. Al-Quds University announced on April 23 that the Palestinian Ministry of Health had approved the computerised artificial respiration apparatus built by the university in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The university will launch its first devices for hospital use in the following week while working to register a patent. / AFP / ABBAS MOMANI -
Palestinians, wearing protective masks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, pay for their shopping at the checkout counter of a supermarket on the last day before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, beginning later in the night, at a supermarket in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on April 23, 2020. / AFP / HAZEM BADER -
Palestinian security officers look at an ostrich in a cage at the Qalqilya Zoo in the occupied West Bank, after the animal park was completely closed to visitors due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, on April 21, 2020. The zoo manager said the animals had started mating more due to the calm atmosphere, with the lack of visitors also improving their behaviour. The zoo is funded by the local municipality but faces a potential financial crisis with budget cuts. / AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH -
Palestinians, some wearing protective masks, shop at a fruit and vegetables market during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on April 26, 2020. / AFP / ABBAS MOMANI -
Palestinian Reem Abu Ayyash shows a spoon filled with rice during a video call with her husband Rami, a nurse who treats the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients and has avoided his family during Ramadan out of fear of contagion, as she prepares to have her Iftar (breaking fast) meal with her daughter at their home near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 28, 2020. Picture taken April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY -
A Palestinian preacher speaks before a camera while recording a sermon and broadcasting the audio onto loudspeakers inside an empty mosque, due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in the village of Salem east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 24, 2020. / AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH
