JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden on Friday pledged an additional $100 million to support hospitals in East Jerusalem as part of a multiyear commitment aimed at helping Palestinian health services.

Biden made the pledge at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem ahead of a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he wraps up the first leg of his Middle East trip before leaving for Saudi Arabia.

“Today I’m pleased to announce the United States is committing an additional $100 million to support these hospitals, your staffs that work for the Palestinian people,” he said.

The funding is subject to approval by the US Congress and would pay out over several years.
Biden called the six hospitals “the backbone of the Palestinian health care system.”

The aid came after the Trump administration slashed $25 million to the hospitals in 2018 as part of a larger suspension of aid to the Palestinians. Biden has restored much of that assistance since assuming office, but has made no progress in resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which collapsed more than a decade ago.

Dr. Fadi Atrash, the hospital’s CEO, called Biden’s visit a “courageous statement of support for the Palestinian people.”

Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and views the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state, and its fate is at the heart of the century-old conflict.

The six east Jerusalem hospitals, which symbolize the Palestinian presence in the city, have faced a funding crisis in recent years, as the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority has struggled to pay for advanced treatment for Palestinians.