After many years of disappointment, the Palestinian Authority feels that this time they may receive a groundbreaking achievement from an American president. So much so that they are afraid of hurting the chance that this will happen, until last week they deepened their disconnect with the Israeli press. With the media downturn, it is difficult to know what achievement this is, and what the Palestinians expect, and who promised them that. A Palestinian source in Ramallah refused to comment on whether it was an American letter to Abu Mazen, or something banal like a zoom conversation between Lapid Biden and Abbas, and he hung up without warning.
Before the fall of the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority expected Biden to announce during his visit to the Palestinian Authority that the United States would reopen the consulate in Jerusalem (separately from the US Embassy in Jerusalem). About a week ago, a source in the Palestinian Authority told us that following the fall of the government in Israel, the chances of a reopening are slim, and perhaps even zero. Yesterday, a Palestinian source told tipp that the Ramallah leadership is now cautiously optimistic about the US president's visit. So, what happened this week that brought the color back to Abu Mazen's cheeks? Is this related to the fact that Biden hurried and greeted Lapid, right as soon as he entered the Prime Minister's Office? We do not know. The opening of the American Consulate is a political achievement for the Palestinians, but it is still not a founding achievement, and such an American act could even seriously hurt Lapid in his first overt political action as prime minister, and the Americans will probably want to prevent this. Therefore, if the Palestinians were promised something significant during Biden's visit, it could be a move that would fit the new political reality in Israel and would try to herald or influence its future.