So it was only a fist salute, the much-discussed handshake was omitted: When US President Joe Biden drove up to the Alsalam Palace in the port city of Jeddah on Friday evening, he was met by the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was exciting seconds, news agencies sent a breaking report to the cell phones shortly afterwards. The greeting, a political issue. It is the first time Biden has flown to Saudi Arabia. It is the first time he meets Mohammed bin Salman live.
The crown prince the CIA blamed for the contract killing of the Washington Post– Blames journalist and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. And whom Biden actually wanted to outlaw as a “pariah”, as he announced during the 2020 election campaign. But the world is changing. And even the Corona-compliant form of greeting, which Biden was just so important to, is apparently no longer a few seconds later. Because when Biden meets the Saudi King Salman, the father of MbS, the two shake hands. That should have annoyed the crown prince.
Joe Biden appeared in front of the cameras late Friday evening. Among other things, he spoke about the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the ceasefire in Yemen – and the subject of human rights. He made it clear that he had spoken to the crown prince about Khashoggi’s murder – but he had denied any responsibility. “He basically said he wasn’t personally responsible. I implied that I think he is,” Biden said.
When asked by a journalist what he would say to Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz, who tweeted, “The blood of MBS’ next victims is on your hands,” Biden replied, “I’m sorry she feels that way.” After a few minutes, Biden reacted indignantly to the many critical inquiries from journalists. He doesn’t regret anything he said. “What happened to Khashoggi was outrageous.”
The reception at the airport showed: The Saudis will not make it easy for Biden
Biden explained the goals of his controversial trip in advance in a post in the Washington Post. He announced: “We have to counter Russia’s aggression, we have to position ourselves in the best possible way to outperform China.” How successfully he can lure Saudi Arabia away from Russia and China remains uncertain. It is clear that they will not make it easy for him.
The reception at Jeddah airport already showed that: Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud, the governor of Mecca, and Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, ambassador to the USA, welcomed Biden. Neither king nor crown prince on the tarmac, no military honors, no big fanfare.
The scene at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport, 1250 kilometers as the crow flies, was very different just a few hours earlier: Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Jair Lapid and a considerable entourage of waving dignitaries bid farewell to the US President. It was the first official direct flight on this route – and the opening of Saudi airspace for flights to and from Israel, announced the night before, is intended to be the prelude to the gradual normalization of relations between the two countries brokered by Washington.
Forging new alliances, pacifying old enmities: This is the overarching theme of Biden’s four-day trip to the Middle East. He talked about it in Israel, he’s campaigning for it on Friday and Saturday in Saudi Arabia – and given this realignment, there’s only a short interlude on Friday morning for the old Middle East and its protagonists, the Palestinians.
The tight program planning allowed for two dates, with which Biden wants to signal to the Palestinians that they are not completely forgotten. First he drove up to the Auguste Viktoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives in Arab East Jerusalem. Kaiser Wilhelm II had it built and named after his wife. But he is not here because of his German heritage, but because of the Palestinian needs: The hospital, which Biden’s wife Jill visited in 2010, is part of a network of clinics in East Jerusalem that form the backbone of Palestinian health care – and the suffer from acute financial shortages. Biden promises $100 million. This helps.
The flow of money that Trump had caused to dry up is flowing again
He then made a generous appearance in Bethlehem, where he met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In all, he promised the Palestinians $316 million in aid in just a few hours. The Washington money flow, which Donald Trump had dried up as president, is flowing again. In addition, Biden can announce a few additional measures agreed with Israel, which should make life easier for the Palestinians and strengthen their economy.
US President Joe Biden with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.
(Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
This is all well intentioned. But it’s a far cry from what the Palestinians expect from Biden. They hope for political signs and concrete impetus in the peace process, which has been dormant since 2014. And they hope in vain.
That’s why shadows hang over Biden’s meeting with Abbas in Bethlehem. At the joint appearance, the US President is committed to the two-state solution, just as he had previously done in Israel. “The Palestinian people deserve their own state,” he says. But he immediately adds a big but. The time is currently “not ripe” for new negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Abbas doesn’t want to accept that. “It’s time the occupation ended,” he declared. “The road to peace in our region begins with the recognition of the State of Palestine.” He gave that to Biden on the way to Jeddah, where shortly afterwards the US President met the rulers of nine Arab states, who have long had other priorities.
In Jeddah, the Palestinian issue is unlikely to play a major role. Biden will meet the rulers of the Gulf there on Saturday, who have completely different concerns: Iran’s nuclear program is at the top of the list. Iraq, Jordan and Egypt will also take part in the meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council.