Palestinians require a political path towards peace with Israel, even if a two-state solution to the conflict appears far off, U.S. President Joe Biden said in the occupied West Bank Friday. 

"There must be a political horizon that the Palestinian people can actually see or at least feel. We cannot allow the hopelessness to steal away the future," Biden said alongside Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Bethlehem. 

Meanwhile, Abbas said there was a narrowing window for the two-state solution to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The opportunity for a two-state solution on the 1967 borders may be available today, and it may not remain for a long time," Abbas said.

Abbas also called for the reopening of the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem and removal of Palestine Liberation Organization from the terrorist list.

Biden has pledged an additional $100 million to support Palestinian hospitals, during his remarks at Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem ahead of his meeting with Abbas.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)

(Cover: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 15, 2022. /Reuters)