US secretary of state, Palestinian Americans discuss ‘important issues’
SMA NEWS – PHILADELPHIA
US secretary of State Anthony Blinken has met a select group of Palestinian American leaders — signifying the importance of changes in the Democratic Party in recent months.
In the past, Arab Americans and especially Palestinian Americans were shunned while US officials regularly met Jewish American leaders.
Blinken tweeted on June 5 about the importance of the conversation with Palestinian-American leaders regarding violence in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
“We are committed to rebuilding our relationship with the Palestinian people. Israelis and Palestinians deserve equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity,” he said on his official Twitter account.
Palestinian Americans who participated told Arab News that the meeting was serious and tackled some of the key issues that need to be talked about.
“We spoke about the importance of conditionality of any aid to Israel and our total opposition to rewarding Israel with the $735 million military aid package,” said the participant, who asked not to be identified.
The meeting follows promises by President Joe Biden’s administration, repeated in Ramallah recently during Blinken’s meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas, on the need to reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem and the Palestinian mission to the US.
Complicated legal and legislative laws have hampered the quick reopening of the Palestinian mission to the US.
