Palestinian President Abbas says ties with US have to be strengthened

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that it is essential for Ramallah to strengthen ties with the US.

Abbas said that "we have to work on overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of strengthening the relations between the two countries", according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

There is a need to stop these practices and complete the implementation of the agreements signed between the two sides, to start a real political process under international legitimacy resolutions."

The comments were made following a meeting between Abbas and the US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Political ties between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) and the US were severed in 2017 in response to former President Donald Trump's decision to recognise the contested city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Most embassies are based in Tel Aviv due to competing claims over Jerusalem, the eastern section of which is occupied by Israel.

The Palestinians want an independent Palestinian state in Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with the eastern part of Jerusalem as its capital. The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and Gaza is under blockade. Successive Israeli governments have avoided a two-state solution.

The meeting between Abbas and Nuland in Ramallah came on the eve of a joint online American Palestinian meeting scheduled for Tuesday to discuss economic cooperation between the two sides.