On Thursday, a high-ranking US official spoke about the meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem, during his visit to the region on the thirteenth of this month.During his meeting with a number of journalists in the city of Ramallah, the head of the American office for Palestinian affairs, George Noll, confirmed that President Abbas presented Biden with his demands, which he aspires to achieve, for the Palestinian people.Noel said: "President Biden responded to his Palestinian counterpart that these demands need the Lord Jesus Christ, the miracle maker, to fulfill them."Noll made no secret that President Biden had felt great sympathy for the Palestinians, indicating that there were limits to what America could do to put pressure on Israel to end the occupation.The US official added: "America is against the occupation and against settlements, but there are those who believe that the United States is able to pick up the phone and ask Israel to do such and such. I wish it were this way, but it is not."He pointed out that Biden empathized with the violation of the dignity of the Palestinians, indicating that this was what prompted him to stress the importance of preserving the dignity of the Palestinian people.Noll also pointed out that President Biden has reaffirmed America's position of a negotiated political solution on the basis of the two-state solution, finding a negotiated solution in Jerusalem, halting settlements, and obtaining equal measures for the Palestinians with the Israelis.The head of the American office for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem stressed that the idea of Palestinians traveling through Ramon Airport in southern occupied Palestine(sic) is not an American idea, explaining that they are intensifying their efforts to solve the problem of the Karama crossing bridge (to Jordan.)The US official indicated that his country is still pressuring Israel to open the US consulate office in occupied Jerusalem.He pointed out that the matter is still in the hands of Israel, especially since the law states that the country hosting the consulate is the one that gives approval for the residency decision.He explained that the US office for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem is carrying out the same tasks and procedures that the consulate is supposed to carry out.Regarding the opening of the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, Noel stressed that this matter requires the organization to amend some procedures in American law...
In a related context, Noel confirmed that the US administration continues to follow up on the results of the investigations into the killing of journalist Sherine Abu Akleh, noting that the legal procedures take a long time.
I was at first skeptical when I saw this story, but it is being reported in multiple outlets without being copied, so it really appears that George Noll said all these things.
