Biden Expected to Announce ‘Strategic Partnership’ in Jerusalem; Europe Rejects Terror Charges Against Palestinian NGOs

Israel and the United States are expected to declare a new strategic partnership during US President Joe Biden’s visit to Jerusalem, which kicked off Wednesday. The agreement includes a joint policy against Iran’s nuclear expansion, with both countries vowing to use “all elements of national power” to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

An Israeli diplomat said that the ‘Jerusalem Declaration of the US-Israel Strategic Partnership‘ will be “a living testimony to the unique quality, depth and scope of the US-Israel relationship.” He added: “It expresses the warmth and profound commitment to the relationship on both sides, specifically [US commitment] to Israel’s security, prosperity and wellbeing.”

The declaration, which has not yet been released to the public, reportedly states that the US plans to follow up on the 10-year $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding on military aid. It will furthermore address “emerging threats and new developments in the region.”

“It is basically saying the US is very much committed to working with Israel and our partners and friends to try to transform the region,” the diplomatic source told local media.

A massive police force has been deployed to secure Biden’s two-day stay in Israel’s capital. More than 16,000 police officers and volunteers are involved in what has been dubbed “Operation Blue Shield 3.”

Following Air Force One’s arrival at Ben Gurion Aiport, the President and his entourage traveled to Jerusalem on Route 1, which was closed in both directions. Traffic disruptions are expected between Wednesday and Friday.

US President @JoeBiden has landed in Israel. pic.twitter.com/m8zX3XjUMD

— Akiva van Koningsveld (@koningsveld) July 13, 2022

Only hours prior to US President Biden’s arrival in the region, the IDF Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, announced that Defense Minister Benny Gantz had approved a number of measures meant to “build confidence” with the Palestinians.

Amongst other things, Israel will permit 5,500 more Palestinians to gain legal status in the PA population registry, which it effectively controls, making it possible for them to apply for ID cards.

Tuesday’s announcement also said that the Jewish state would grant 1,500 permits for laborers from Gaza to work inside Israel, bringing the total number to 15,500 — the highest since the US-designated Hamas terror group seized power in Gaza from Palestinian Authority President Mamoud Abbas’ forces 15 years ago.

Moreover, Gantz gave the green light for a new crossing to the northern West Bank, designed to make it easier for Arab Israelis to enter PA-controlled Jenin. The checkpoint will be named “Salam” (peace in Arabic). Finally, Israel approved six Palestinian construction plans in the territory.

Gantz authorized the steps after meeting Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah last week to discuss coordination ahead of Biden’s visit. According to local outlets, Washington had asked Israel’s new caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, to provide Abbas with economic concessions to help strengthen the latter’s rule in the territories.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s government will delay a meeting to advance housing projects in eastern Jerusalem, scheduled to take place soon after US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Jewish state’s capital, an anonymous official told local media.

The apartments in Jewish-majority neighborhoods were initially intended to come before the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee on Monday, just three days after Biden’s trip. The plans concern one community in Givat Shaked and another between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos, totaling approximately 2,000 homes.

Following reports that the projects were being removed from the committee’s agenda, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked emphasized that it was only being delayed by a week, not canceled. Shaked noted that hearings on building in both Jewish and Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem are being postponed.

Biden’s previous visit to the holy city — 12 years ago, as vice president under president Barack Obama — was marred by inaccurate reporting. On the second day of Biden’s stay, Jerusalem’s municipal planning committee voted to advance a relatively uncontroversial plan to build 1,600 housing units in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in the eastern part of town.

While the Ramat Shlomo construction that only occurred years later did not and could not have harmed peace talks because the chance of the area being relinquished in a diplomatic deal was zero, the headlines and the uproar they created did make it harder to advance the process for the remaining seven years of the Obama administration.

Nine European countries issued a rare joint statement saying they have seen “no substantial evidence” to support Israel’s claim that six Palestinian NGOs have ties to terrorists. Israel had accused the groups of serving as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), designated a terror group by the European Union and the United States.

“Accusations of terrorism or links to terrorist groups must always be treated with the utmost seriousness,” read the statement issued by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, adding: “No substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organizations.'”

Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. pic.twitter.com/SwvTjMXvrI

— Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (@SweMFA) July 12, 2022

The blacklisted organizations include Al-Haq, Addameer, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, many of which have received European funding.

In its October 22 announcement, Israel’s Defense Ministry said that the so-called “civil society organizations” are “controlled by senior leaders” of the PFLP and employ its members, including some who have “participated in terror activity.” Jerusalem also alleged the groups serve as a “central source” of financing for the Marxist terror group.

The government of the Netherlands announced in July 2020 that it would stop supporting the Union of Agricultural Work Committees after it found evidence that individual staffers were linked to the PFLP.

Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of the NGO Monitor watchdog group, commented: “When European countries claim there is a lack of evidence that their sub-contractors have ties to terror, they are intentionally ignoring open material that has been presented to them and the public for years.”

The UK branch of Amnesty International is releasing a new line of merchandise titled ‘End Israeli Apartheid,’ including t-shirts, stickers, placards, and “briefing documents.” The first set of t-shirts will be available within days, with more products being developed in partnership with Palestinian artists, Amnesty campaign manager Kristyan Benedict stated.

Amnesty International in February released a report that charged Israel with maintaining a “cruel system of apartheid” since the country’s creation in 1948. The London-based NGO accused successive Israeli governments of striving for over seven decades to establish “Jewish domination and control over specific areas of strategic importance,” while treating Palestinians and Israeli Arabs as “inferior non-Jewish racial group[s].”

The 280-page document titled, “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians. Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity,” concluded with a call to “dismantle” what Amnesty referred to as a “system of oppression and domination,” and to allow millions of descendants of Palestinian refugees to “return” to Israel, a recipe for ending Jewish self-determination.

New Amnesty UK T-shirts, briefings, and other merch to support the #EndIsraeliApartheid global campaign – more coming soon.. pic.twitter.com/yurulFNeOD

— kristyan benedict (@KreaseChan) July 11, 2022

“Our campaign to help end Israel’s cruel system of apartheid against Palestinians has seen an excellent response from people who are opposed to racism and discrimination,” Benedict explained this week, adding: “We expect the t-shirts and other End Israeli Apartheid campaign products to be popular.”

In June, an independent inquiry found that Amnesty’s UK branch, at least in part responsible for the contents of the ‘apartheid report,’ has an “institutional racism” problem within its ranks. The investigation discovered that Amnesty International UK “exhibits institutional/systemic racism” and has a “bullying culture.” In their testimony, Amnesty personnel characterized the organizational culture as “white savior and colonialist.”