President Biden snubs Palestinian President Abbas request to meet during UN visit

The Palestinian president's offer to meet Biden on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting was turned down.

1 min read

30 September, 2021

Biden rejected Abbas' request despite holding three bilateral meetings with other countries participating in the Assembly, reports say [Getty]

President Joe Biden rejected Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas's offer to meet in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli media has reported.

US and Palestinian sources told Israeli website Axios that the snub led Abbas to decide not to travel to New York for the UN meeting and instead delivered a speech to the assembly by video link.

Israeli news outlet Walla said that US sources pointed out that Biden's rejection of Abbas's proposal is a "very exceptional" move.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Palestinian-Israeli Affairs, Hady Amr, will visit the occupied Palestinian territories next Monday to hold meetings on the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and "discuss steps that guarantee the strengthening of the position of the Palestinian Authority", reported Walla.

President Abbas accused Israel on Friday of destroying the two-state solution with actions that could lead Palestinians to demand equal rights within one binational state comprising Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza, Reuters reported.

Abbas also said that Israel "had one year ahead to end the occupation" of the West Bank.