“The US will urge Israel’s government and the Palestinian Authority to avoid unilateral steps that make the two-state solution more difficult.” The Biden administration is not expected to try to push a peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians, according to a high-level Israeli government source.

On January 15, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that the parliamentary election would be held on May 22. Despite the talk about holding new general elections, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are continuing to crack down on each other’s supporters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Iran supports an inclusive Afghan government that would include all ethnic groups and sects, Zarif was quoted as saying. Iran has hosted the political leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban during the past week, offering Tehran’s own help as a mediator in peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government that …