Jamal Khashoggi’s US lawyer sentenced to three years following detention in UAE

National security adviser Jake Sullivan says not to expect an immediate announcement on increasing oil production following President Joe Biden’s meetings in Saudi Arabia.

Officials have said an announcement on upping production could potentially happen in the coming weeks.

“I don’t think you should expect a particular announcement here bilaterally because we believe any further action taken to ensure that there is sufficient energy to protect the health of the global economy will be done in the context of OPEC+.”

Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers on Friday dismissed President Joe Biden’s expressions of sympathy for the Palestinians, calling the United States “a partner in the aggression on our people.”

They also criticised President Mahmoud Abbas for meeting with Biden and reiterating his support for a peace process with Israel. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said “it’s strange” that the Palestinian leader “extends his hand for peace with the occupation.”

Hamas and other Palestinian factions held a small protest against Biden’s visit on Thursday.

Hamas, which rejects Israel’s existence, seized power from Abbas’ forces in Gaza after defeating his secular Fatah party in elections more than 15 years ago. Abbas cancelled the first elections since then last year, when it appeared Fatah was heading for another crushing defeat.

Abbas supports negotiations with Israel leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state in east Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The last serious, substantive peace talks collapsed more than a decade ago, and Israel today is dominated by parties opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution during his visit to the region and pledged some $300 million in aid to the Palestinians, but acknowledged that “the ground is not ripe” for a return to direct negotiations.

AP

President Joe Biden on Friday arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for two days of meetings with Saudi officials and leaders from across the Gulf region, less than one day after the kingdom announced it would open its’ airspace to all carriers, including those departing from Israel.

Mr Biden arrived aboard Air Force One at 5.53 pm local time, just under two hours after taking off from Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The president’s plane was the second-ever flight to travel directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, the first such flight having been made by a charter plane carrying the White House press corps several hours earlier.

The president is set to spend the remainder of his day on Friday meeting with Saudi leaders, including King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Former CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller notes that Joe Biden is the eighth US president to visit Saudi Arabia.

Both president GHW Bush and GW Bush visited twice, and Barack Obama was in the kingdom a surprising four times during his eight years in office.

And who could forget this moment from Donald Trump’s 2017 visit?

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met President Joe Biden at the door of the Al Salam Royal Palace, where they will participate in a bilateral meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud.

The two exchanged a brief fist bump before heading inside for the closed-door meeting.

New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker notes that the prince was “unsmiling”.

The fist bump from the other angle, as posted by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

A report from Jeddah states that at the beginning of the meeting both President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman ignored two shouted questions from the press pool.

“Will you apologise to Khashoggi’s family?”

“Is Saudi Arabia still a pariah?”

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reputation as a brazen leader who has ruthlessly silenced critics and dissent will cast a shadow over his meeting on Friday with US President Joe Biden.

The royal has sidelined top princes who could pose a threat and overseen Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. The 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul still looms large — though the prince is credited with pushing through once-unthinkable changes, allowing women to drive and travel freely, permitting concerts, opening movie theaters and de-fanging the once-feared religious police.

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As Joe Biden embarked on a multi-issue mission to the Middle East, his first as president, one persistent problem for his administration was weighing heavily both on the minds of White House staff and the media: oil prices.

What are the prospects for any material impact at the pump?