Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh met, Monday, with a delegation of members of the US Congress to discuss ways to revive the political process and the role of the Congress in protecting the two-state solution.
The Palestinian prime minister called on the Congress to vote in favour of recognising the State of Palestine, affirming that Israel violates international law on a daily basis through killing, storming and building settlements, stressing that this causes the systematic destruction of the two-state solution.
The continuation of the fait accompli will lead to a slide towards one state with an apartheid regime in reality, laws and legislation, especially in light of the Palestinians' superiority over the Jews in terms of numbers in historical Palestine, Shtayyeh said.
He called on Congress to pressure Israel to allow the holding of Palestinian elections, including in Jerusalem, in accordance with the signed agreements, considering that Israel's failure to allow this is an attempt to fight Palestinian democracy.
The PM also demanded that the US administration's condemnation of settlements be translated into deterrent measures that protect the two-state solution from Israel.
On the other hand, the Prime Minister called on members of Congress to push for amending laws and regulations that target the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization and link them to terrorism.
Reuters adds from Jerusalem: Israel plans to ease travel for Palestinian Americans from the blockaded Gaza Strip next month as part of preparations for Israelis to be able to enter the United States without visas, an Israeli official said.
As a condition for its accession to the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), Israel has since July 20 loosened access through its borders, and in and out of the occupied West Bank, for Palestinian Americans in what the allies deem a pilot period.
Gaza, whose governing Islamist Hamas is designated a terrorist group by Israel and the United States, has so far not been included. That has stirred protests by Palestinian Americans and calls from Washington for a change in practice.
Gil Bringer, Israel's VWP project manager, put the number of Palestinian Americans living in Gaza at between 100 and 130 and said that, as part of the pilot, they can travel by special shuttle bus to the West Bank, cross into Jordan and continue from there to other foreign destinations on family visits.
By Sept. 15, those of them who satisfy Israel's security criteria will be able to enter it on "B2" tourist visas and fly out of its main Ben Gurion Airport, Bringer told Reuters.
![Gulf Times](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://gulf-times.com/gulftimes/uploads/images/2023/08/07/63093.jpg&w=800&q=100&f=webp)