U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed American support for a two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Thursday, a day before a scheduled meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.
Biden's visit has met with deep skepticism from Palestinians who say their concerns on issues including self-determination and settlement building in the occupied West Bank have been swept aside by a drive to fix Israel into regional security arrangements with Arab countries.
They also say Washington has failed to live up to pledges on reopening its consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, closed by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019.
Speaking following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Biden said the United States wanted to see a "lasting negotiated peace between the state of Israel and the Palestinian people".
"The best way to achieve that remains a two-state solution, for two people, both of whom have deep and ancient roots in this land, living side by side in peace and security."
However, he gave no detail and did not speak about reviving the stalled process to reach a settlement between the two sides.
A two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state sitting alongside the existing state of Israel has long been the favored solution for the international community but has appeared an increasingly distant prospect, with broad sections of Israeli politics opposed.
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