Palestinian factions reject Biden's Middle East visit, call for protests

RAMALLAH/GAZA - As US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday for his first Middle East trip as president, some Palestinian political factions have voiced their rejection of the visit, and called for protests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

During a seminar held in Gaza City, Bassem Na'aim, who is in charge of the political department of the Islamic Resistance Movement, said that Biden came to the region laden with "failure".

The US president has no solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Na'aim said, stressing the "need to hold a strategic dialogue at the level of Arab and Islamic parties, countries and entities".

In the eyes of Ahmad Al-Medallal, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Palestinians should not bet on "the US project in the region".

"The Palestinian leadership has to form a national front to manage the state of conflict with Israel," he said.

Maher Mezher, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Gaza, said that Biden's visit aims to strengthen the US grip on the region, warning against false promises by the United States.

Meanwhile, multiple Palestinian factions and activists called for rallies in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in protest against Biden's visit.

Delivering a short speech upon arrival on Wednesday, Biden said, "as president of the United States of America, I can say that our relationship with Israel is deeper and stronger than ever before."

He vowed that the United States would create more stability "because this is critical to all the peoples of the region".

On Friday, Biden is set to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential residence in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.