While the Palestinian leadership was slow in congratulating the declared winner of the US presidential elections, the press has been eager to acknowledge him. The largest-selling daily, Al-Quds, announced on Nov. 7, “Biden at the steps of the White House,” with a stock photo of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and former US Vice President Joe Biden. 

A source in the Palestinian presidency told Al-Monitor that the official hesitation was out of fear that an unstable electoral loser could do further harm to Palestinians.

The silence was broken on Nov. 8 with a two-paragraph report on the Wafa news site that Abbas has offered his congratulations to Biden. “President Abbas said he was looking forward to working with the president-elect and his administration to strengthen the Palestinian-American relations and to achieve freedom, independence, justice and dignity for our people, as well as to work for peace, stability and security for all in our region and the world.”

Ziad Abu Zayyad, a Jerusalem-based attorney and former Palestinian legislator, told Al-Monitor that he hopes for a resumption of Palestinian contacts with the elected US leadership. He said, “Palestinians need to resume contacts with the new administration and bring it to recognize the State of Palestine and call on the president-elect to stand by his promise to reopen the US Consulate in east Jerusalem and recognize east Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.”