Biden's Palestine visit draws scant optimism

RAMALLAH/GAZA－For the last two months, Othman Jabarin has been living in fear. The 57-year-old Palestinian from Masafer Yatta area is worried that he and his family will be expelled from where they have been sheltering for decades.

In May, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to approve the Israeli army's recommendation to forcibly transfer residents from eight villages in Masafer Yatta who "failed to prove "they were permanent residents in the area before it was declared a military training zone for the army.

Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden is going to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank during his trip to the Middle East from Wednesday to Saturday. He will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to an announcement made by the White House last month.

However, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza said they do not have high expectations for the visit and do not think it will end their suffering or find a solution to their cause.

Jabarin was one of those who showed no interest in Biden's visit. He said Biden's visit to the West Bank and his meeting with Abbas "will not benefit the residents of the eight residential communities in Masafer Yatta who were threatened with displacement, including children and women".

"Can Biden stop the Israeli measures against the residents of Masafer Yatta－the original owners of the land, who inherited it from their parents and grandparents?" Jabarin said, adding that the visit will meet neither the aspirations nor the just demands of Palestinians.

The Palestinians also said that Biden's visit to Palestine is doomed to fail as he has not fulfilled the promises he made regarding the two-state solution, reopening the US consulate in Jerusalem and pressuring Israel to stop its unilateral measures.

Biden's visit "will not make any difference in the political and living reality of the Palestinian people", said Mohammed Abed Rabbo, a 45-year-old Arabic language teacher from northern Gaza.

"The first mission of Biden's visit is to defend Israel's regional and international interests in an attempt to win Israeli public opinion on one hand, and ensure the support of the Zionist lobby in the upcoming elections on the other," he said.

Hadia Al-Sha'er, a 25-year-old woman from Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, had a similar view. She said "the visit will not benefit the Palestinian people, especially since the Americans always defend Israel's interests".

She called on Palestinians to reject Biden's visit "as it does more harm than good".

"Instead of receiving Biden, the Palestinians should move toward ending internal division and restoring national unity to confront the dangers facing the Palestinian question," she said.

Xinhua