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President Joe Biden has restated his support for “two states for two people” but said the ground is “not ripe” to restart Israel-Palestine peace talks.

Joe Biden has been accused of attempting to “buy a solution” to Israel’s half-century-long occupation of Palestine as it was revealed that he would be pledging more than $300m (£250m) in aid.

On Friday, the US president met his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem – in the Israeli-controlled West Bank – where people have gathered to protest his arrival.

Mr Biden is there as part of his multi-stop trip in the Middle East that began in Israel and is to end with his attendance to a summit in Saudi Arabia.

My colleague Lamiat Sabin reports:

On his way to meet Palsteninan authority president Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on Friday, Mr Biden’s motorcade passed a billboard from an Israeli human right’s group that read: “Mr. President, this is apartheid.”

The remarks were respresentative of many in Palestine, where officials have expressed disappointment at the US administration’s reluctance to initiate a new round of peace talks between the two states.

Israel has long denied that its treatment of Palestinians amounts to apartheid, and insists that such attacks question its legitimacy.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports:

Ther US president addressed the death of popular Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday during a press conference with authority president Abbas.

Mr Biden called the death of the Al-Jazeera correspondent in May an “enormous loss to the essential work of sharing with the world the story of the Palestinian people.”

Struggling to pronounce her name, according to the Associated Press, he said Abu Akleh “was performing very vital work” when she was killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank.

The US State Department concluded earlier this month that Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli fire and that there no reason to suggest her killing was intentional. Israel says its soldiers were exchanging gunfire with Palestinian gunmen at the time.

Palestinian authority president Abbas and Abu Akleh’s family have rejected Israel’s and the State Department’s report and called for accountability for the Israeli military.

“The killers of the martyr journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, they need to be held accountable,” said Palestinian president Abbas alongside Mr Biden.

The US president said the US “will continue to insist on a full and transparent accounting of her death and will continue to stand up for media freedom everywhere in the world.”

Joe Biden visited the Church of the Nativity in the occupied West Bank earlier on Friday.

The site in traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and is among the oldest churches in the world.

From the White House:

Today, President Joseph R Biden Jr met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. President Biden reaffirmed the enduring ties between the Palestinian and American peoples and underscored his commitment to a two-state solution on the 1967 lines with land swaps mutually agreed by the Israelis and Palestinians. He also highlighted the importance of direct negotiations leading to an independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, both enjoying secure and recognized borders, allowing the two peoples to live side-by-side in peace and security.

In the meeting, President Biden highlighted a number of initiatives the United States is undertaking to support the Palestinian people. President Biden also discussed encouraging regional governments and the international community to assist the Palestinian people.

The leaders reaffirmed that both Palestinians and Israelis deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, prosperity, and democracy. President Biden emphasized his belief that the Palestinian people deserve to live lives of dignity and opportunity; to move and travel freely; to feel secure in their communities; and to give hope to their children that they will one day enjoy the same freedom and self-determination of their neighbors.

President Biden reiterated the importance of fostering a political horizon, and noted the United States stands ready to work with Israelis, Palestinians, and regional stakeholders toward that goal. As he had relayed to Israeli leaders, President Biden conveyed to President Abbas that in order to create the conditions for negotiations, it was important for both parties to avoid unilateral measures.

President Biden reiterated the US position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and that it continues to be the policy of the United States that the specific boundaries of sovereignty in Jerusalem must be resolved through final status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. He further reaffirmed the need to preserve the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem, recognizing the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s crucial role as custodian.

President Joe Biden has boarded Air Force One for a historic first direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia by a US President.

Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota criticised President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, saying it sends the wrong message about the United States’s position on human rights.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

Per the White House:

Saudi Arabia’s historic decision to open its airspace for all civilian planes, including those flying to and from Israel, is an important step towards building a more integrated and stable Middle East region. While this opening has long been discussed, now, thanks to months of steady diplomacy between my Administration and Saudi Arabia, it is finally a reality. Today, I will be the first president of the United States to fly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As we mark this important moment, Saudi Arabia’s decision can help build momentum toward Israel’s further integration into the region, including with Saudi Arabia. I will do all that I can, through direct diplomacy and leader-to-leader engagement, to keep advancing this groundbreaking process.