Ramallah, Palestinian Territories – Hussein al-Sheikh, vice-president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), on Tuesday said he met the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in the occupied West Bank.
The meeting was Huckabee’s first official visit to Ramallah, which is home to key Palestinian Authority institutions.
“Discussions were held regarding support for efforts to stop the war in the Gaza Strip, release the hostages and deliver urgent aid to the Palestinian people there,” he wrote on X.
“The current situation in the West Bank was also discussed, including the severe economic and financial crisis and settler violence.
“Ways to strengthen bilateral relations were explored, as well as the importance of the American role in achieving stability, security, and peace in the region.”
Sheikh, a veteran of Abbas’s Fatah party, was appointed as vice-president of the PLO leadership in April, a newly created position.
Founded in 1964, the PLO is empowered to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the Palestinian Authority is responsible for governance in parts of the Palestinian territories.
The PLO is an umbrella organisation comprising several Palestinian factions but not the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are currently at war with Israeli forces in Gaza.
Relations between the United States and the Palestinian Authority were strained during Donald Trump’s first term as president, during which he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognised it as Israel’s capital, in a break with international consensus.
Last Saturday, Huckabee visited Taybeh, a Christian village in the occupied West Bank, where he called for justice after an attack on a church blamed by locals on Israeli settlers.
The ambassador is a leading figure on the conservative Christian right in the United States and is close to pro-settlement groups.
Nevertheless, Huckabee urged Israel to “aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet”, a Palestinian-American beaten to death by Israeli settlers, calling it “a criminal and terrorist act”.
