The United States is holding talks with the Palestinian Authority about improving a relationship that has been strained for years, according to three officials familiar with the matter quoted by The Times of Israel. Washington is seeking Ramallah’s cooperation to push forward major regional initiatives, including its 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and rebuild the enclave.
Under the plan, the Palestinian Authority would eventually take control of Gaza after carrying out sweeping reforms. An official in the Palestinian Authority said Saudi Arabia is helping Ramallah with those reforms, which Riyadh sees as essential to opening the path to a Palestinian state. A U.S. official said Saudi Arabia has signaled willingness to normalize ties with Israel if there is an “irreversible” path toward Palestinian statehood.
The Trump administration is also trying to redirect billions of dollars in Palestinian Authority revenues, which Israel currently withholds, to the underfunded Peace Council that Washington created to implement the Gaza plan. Another idea under review is persuading the World Bank to channel aid meant for Gaza services to the Peace Council instead of the Palestinian Authority. A U.S. intelligence source said Washington may revisit the 2020 peace plan after Israel’s elections in the fall, hoping the weakened Palestinian Authority will be forced to reconsider it.
For months, Washington has been speaking with Ramallah, which hopes the talks will ease its tense ties with the Trump administration after years of being largely ignored. During Trump’s first term, he effectively shut the Palestinian mission in Washington after the Palestinian leadership refused to cooperate with his peace initiative, which it viewed as heavily biased toward Israel. The U.S. is also seeking a Palestinian commitment to stop its international legal campaign against Israel and withdraw complaints in international forums, while the Palestinian Authority is demanding a halt to settlement expansion and action against settler violence in the West Bank. Officials said no progress is expected before the Israeli elections, when a new government may be formed. A State Department spokesman said, “Reform in the Palestinian Authority is a prerequisite to calming Israel’s security concerns.”
