As part of its effort to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, the Biden Administration invited the two parties to a summit in Jordan on February 26 to discuss ways to “prevent further violence.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the meeting as a “positive step for Israelis and Palestinians.” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said:

“We recognize that this meeting was a starting point and that there is much work to do over the coming weeks and months to build a stable and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Implementation will be critical.”

If the Biden Administration were serious about de-escalating tensions and preventing further violence between Israelis and Palestinians, it could have achieved this goal by demanding that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas take action against the numerous armed gangs roaming Palestinian streets.

The Biden Administration could at least have demanded that Abbas rein in the terror attacks against Jews instead of glorifying terrorists and rewarding them and their families financially as part of his “pay-for-slay” incentive to go murder Jews.

Instead of condemning terrorism, Abbas and senior Palestinian officials, including PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, regularly castigate Israel for launching pre-emptive operations to prevent terror attacks that harm its people.

The Biden Administration seems not to understand that by failing to condemn the murder of innocent Israeli civilians, Abbas is signaling to his people that he has no problem with the terrorists so long as they target only Jews and not him.

The Biden Administration also does not seem to understand that Abbas’s refusal to take any action against the Palestinian terrorists and armed groups is seen by his own people as a green light to continue targeting Jews — with knives, bullets, rockets, cars and stones.