Biden undoes Trump's Middle East policy.
President takes back funding for UN agency for Palestinian refugees, pushes tech projects that undermine security.
President Joe Biden has once again pivoted the country's foreign policy in the Middle East by announcing to the Palestinian Authority plans to reverse the policies implemented by former President Donald Trump, according to Fox News in its follow-up to Biden's tour of the region.
Thus, after reaffirming his commitment to the two-state solution, Biden announced new measures for Palestine in his meeting with Mahmud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority. They include support for technology to enable them to implement 4G in Gaza and the West Bank, aspirations that were blocked in the past due to Israeli security concerns.
It also highlights the distribution of 200 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) whose funding Trump withdrew in 2018. Israel accuses this agency of being the only one that does not resettle refugees, allowing the number of Palestinian refugees to grow and continue to perpetuate instability in the region. Israel also accuses the agency's educational institutions of promoting terror against its country.
Biden says he has decided to reverse the policies of his predecessor and "resume aid to the Palestinians..." so that UNRWA "can continue its vital work of helping the most vulnerable Palestinians, especially Palestinian children," he said.
The president has refrained from condemning Palestinian terrorism that has recurrently hampered peace efforts in the past and provoked countless rounds of violence against Israel.