To say outgoing US President Donald Trump has been a disaster for the Palestinian cause would be an understatement. To note a few of aspects of his administration’s policy: it recognised Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem, moving the US Embassy there; dropped the descriptor “occupied” to describe Palestinian territories; and ended funding through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. Very recently, Mike Pompeo visited an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, becoming the first Secretary of State to officially do so and giving Israel’s occupation the USA’s stamp of approval.

It will come as no surprise, then, that for the vast majority of Palestinians and their sympathisers, the outcome of the presidential election allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. However, despite President-Elect Joe Biden being less overtly hostile to their cause than his predecessor, this does not mean he will be their champion in office. 

Biden has long been a member of the Democratic establishment—in fact, the US political establishment in general—in the sense that he is a firm supporter of Israel. He famously stated in 1986 that military funding to Israel was one of the best investments America made, and that if the country did not exist then the US would need to create one to defend its interests. It echoes his belief that Israel is America’s only true ally in the Middle East and his previously-warm relations as Vice President with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

It is understandable then that some have been sceptical about how much progress will be made in terms of improvement to the situation of Palestinians under the incoming Biden administration. Biden has shown commitment to the two-state solution advocated through the 1993 and 1995 Oslo Accords. However, this strategy to end the conflict is controversial, with some believing it has become outdated. There certainly has been little progress while American leaders in recent years have pursued this approach; and, with the same leaders in place as when the last US-brokered negotiations failed in 2014, it is questionable how much luck Biden could have in this respect. He has also ruled out conditioning military funding to Israel, a move proposed by the progressive movement in the US who are pushing for a re-examination of America’s traditional attitude towards Israel.

Concerns that Biden will simply revive the pre-Trump status quo should not be used to shield the fact that he is likely to reverse some of the current administration’s adverse policies. Biden’s government will almost certainly restore diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority, provide humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and re-open the US Consulate in occupied East Jerusalem as well as the Palestinian Liberation Organisation Mission Office in Washington. A reversal of the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem should not be expected, however, as this could prove to be very controversial and cause tension with Israel.

The debate over which approach US presidents should take in the Arab-Israeli conflict falls into a bigger argument over whether foreign leaders should take a stronger stance against the Israeli government’s behaviour. Some supporters of the Palestinian cause have begun to back the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which aims to pressure Israel into halting what the group considers its violations of international law. The US government recently declared this movement anti-Semitic, an accusation the organisation denies. 

It is safe to say that President-Elect Biden will be better for Palestinians than the man who came directly before him. However, there is a strong chance he will not go much further than successive presidents of the last few decades—something that many would argue is necessary to spark a real change in the lives of Palestinians.

Rhiannon is an LLB student at Swansea University, who intends to pursue a career at the Bar of England and Wales. She has particular interests in criminal and human rights law. She has sat on the committee of her university’s Bar Society and is incoming President of its Feminist Society.

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