Biden Middle East visit: US president bumps fists with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The New Arab's live coverage of US President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East concludes for today.

Key updates on Friday, 15 July

• Biden met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying during his trip to Bethlehem that Palestinians need to see a path towards statehood, even if hopes for a peace process with Israel remain bleak.
• The US president pledged a $100 million aid package for medical institutions in occupied East Jerusalem.
• He also announced an additional $200 million for the UN agency serving Palestinian refugees, which saw funding cut by the previous US president Donald Trump.
• Biden then flew to Saudi Arabia from Israel, in the first direct flight by an American president from Israel to the Gulf kingdom, where he bumped fists with Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince and de facto ruler. Human rights are among the topics expected to be broached during the US leader's time in Saudi Arabia.

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Biden fist bumps Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

US President Joe Biden gave a fist bump to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi state television showed on Friday, during a trip to Saudi Arabia that is being watched for body language and rhetoric as Washington seeks to reset relations.

During the visit, Biden is expected to discuss human rights, one of several issues that have strained ties after US intelligence concluded the crown prince, known as MbS, directly approved the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The crown prince denies having any role in the killing.

Biden was welcomed by Mecca governor Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud and the kingdom's envoy to Washington, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, after his plane landed in the country, Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya English reported.

(Reuters)

Iran unveils naval drone division as US President Biden tours Middle East

Iran's navy unveils its first division of ships and submarines capable of carrying armed drones, as US President Joe Biden tours the Middle East.

The United States and Israel, the sworn enemies of Iran, have previously accused the Islamic Republic of using drones and missiles to attack US forces and Israel-linked ships in the Gulf.

"The first drone-carrier division of the Iranian navy consisting of ships and submarine units carrying all types of drone for combat, detection and destruction has been unveiled," state television says.

"All types of the latest advanced drones produced by the military and the defence ministry have flown over the Indian Ocean's waters to demonstrate their capabilities," it adds, showing images of drones taking off from a naval vessel.

Biden travelling to Saudi Arabia aboard direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia

US President Joe Biden has departed Tel Aviv on Friday aboard a direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia, the latest stop on his first Middle East tour as US leader.

Hours ahead of the president's arrival in Jeddah, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom changed its aviation rules in an apparent gesture of openness towards Israel that comes amid longstanding speculation Riyadh could controversially normalise ties with Tel Aviv.

The Saudi leadership paved the way for Israeli planes to use its airspace by announcing it was lifting restrictions on "all carriers", a move welcomed by Biden as "historic".

"Saudi Arabia's decision can help build momentum toward Israel's further integration into the region, including with Saudi Arabia," the US leader said.

Biden's direct flight is the first by an American president from Israel to Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh's decision to open up its airspace comes despite it long stressing its commitment to the decades-old Arab League position of not establishing official ties with Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.

Palestinians consider steps towards normalisation with Israel a betrayal that damages their national cause.

Biden says Palestinians need to see path towards statehood

US President Joe Biden has said during his trip to the occupied West Bank on Friday that Palestinians need to see a path towards statehood, even if hopes for a peace process with Israel remain bleak.

The American leader's visit to the Saudi city of Jeddah will follow talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the latest high-level diplomatic meeting after those with the Israeli leadership on Thursday.

Biden reiterated his administration's commitment to a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying there "must be a political horizon that the Palestinian people can actually see".

"I know that the goal of the two states seems so far away," he said in Bethlehem, alongside Abbas.

The Palestinian president said he was "taking steps" to improve the bilateral relationship and aimed to see the US consulate to Palestinians reopen in Jerusalem, which was shuttered by Trump.

"The key to peace begins with recognising the state of Palestine," Abbas said.

With Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations moribund since 2014, the US delegation has been focusing on economic measures.

Biden announced an additional $200 million for the UN agency serving Palestinian refugees, which saw funding cut by the previous US president Donald Trump.

During a visit earlier Friday to a hospital in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Biden pledged a $100 million aid package for medical institutions in the area.

Journalists wear t-shirts urging justice for Shireen Abu Akleh at Biden-Abbas press conference

Over a dozen journalists wore t-shirts urging justice for slain Palestinian reporter Shireen Abu Akleh at US President Joe Biden's press conference with his Palestinian Authority counterpart Mahmoud Abbas.

A photograph of the journalists wearing the shirts, which bear Abu Akleh's face and the message "#JusticeForShireen", was uploaded to Instagram.

Below the veteran Al Jazeera reporter's face is the word "press".

Abu Akleh had been wearing a vest clearly identifying her as a member of the press when Israeli forces shot her dead in May.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Alaa (@alaa.daraghme)

Chair kept for Shireen Abu Akleh at Biden press conference with Abbas

A chair has been kept for slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh at US President Joe Biden's press conference with his Palestinian Authority counterpart Mahmoud Abbas.

Amnesty International UK crisis response manager Kristyan Benedict tweeted a photo of a printed image of Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces in May, sat on a chair at the event.

A microphone seemingly bearing the logo of Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab broadcaster for which Abu Akleh worked for over two decades, has also been placed on the seat.

A chair saved for Shireen Abu Akleh at the Biden-Abbas ‘press conference’. She should have been there. Israeli forces killed her. #JusticeForShireen pic.twitter.com/PWBhz0KT2y

— kristyan benedict (@KreaseChan) July 15, 2022

Biden meets Abbas for talks expected to focus on economy

US President Joe Biden met his Palestinian Authority counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank on Friday for talks expected to focus on economic measures without striking any major diplomatic breakthrough.

With Palestinians banned by Israel from political activity in Jerusalem, the US president travelled to Bethlehem to meet Abbas.

A muted welcome awaited him from Palestinians there.

"He cannot buy us off," says Tamer Mustafa, a 20-year-old Palestinian in downtown Bethlehem.

"The visit is not about peace, it is about Israel. Many people are angry because he said he was a Zionist."

Iran says 'more determined' to protect own interests in nuclear deal negotiations after Biden's Israel visit

Iran says it is "more determined" to protect its own interests in negotiations to revive a nuclear deal following US President Joe Biden's visit this week to Israel.

"Reaching a good, solid and lasting agreement is our goal... The puppet show of the White House and Zionism in the region makes us more determined," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says in a Twitter post on Friday.

Biden pledges additional $100 million support to East Jerusalem hospitals

US President Joe Biden is pledging an additional $100 million to support hospitals in occupied East Jerusalem as part of a multiyear commitment aimed at helping Palestinian health services.

Biden made the pledge on Friday at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem ahead of a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he wraps up the first leg of his Middle East trip before leaving for Saudi Arabia.

"Today I'm pleased to announce the United States is committing an additional $100 million to support these hospitals, your staffs that work for the Palestinian people," he says.

(Reuters)

Pro-Palestine protesters gather in East Jerusalem ahead of Biden visit to hospital

About two dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators are gathered in occupied East Jerusalem ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to a local hospital.

The protesters on Friday are holding Palestinian flags and posters of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist who was shot dead by Israeli forces in May while covering a military raid in the occupied West Bank.

After two days of nonstop meetings with Israeli leaders, Biden is visiting the Augusta Victoria Hospital, which serves local Palestinians, before heading to Bethlehem to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The demonstration is several hundred meters from the hospital, with Israeli police standing at a distance outside the building.

It was not clear if Biden's motorcade would pass by the crowd.