Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to convene a Middle East conference by mid-2018 that will provide a platform aimed at advancing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. In a rare address to the United Nations Security Council, President Abbas reiterated that he would no longer view the United States as a neutral mediator. “We met with the president of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, four times in 2017 and we have expressed our absolute readiness to reach a historic peace agreement. We repeatedly reaffirmed our position in accordance with international law, the relevant U.N. resolutions and the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders. Yet this administration has not clarified its position. Is it for the two-state solution or for the one-state solution? And then, in a dangerous, unprecedented manner, this administration undertook an unlawful decision, which was rejected by the international community to remove the issue of Jerusalem off the table, without any reason. It decided to recognize the city of Israel’s capital and to transfer its embassy to the city, to Jerusalem. It did so ignoring that East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967 and it is our capital, which we wish to be a city open for all the faithful of the three monotheistic religions, especially Islam, Christianity and Judaism,” Abbas said.
The Palestinian leader took the opportunity to once-again condemn the Jewish state, accusing Israel of abandoning an internationally aspired two state solution. In what appeared to be a new strategy of the Palestinian leader, Abbas attempted to separate between Judaism and Israel, emphasizing that the problem of the Palestinians lies solely with the latter. “Israel shut the door on the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders. Here, we must reaffirm as we have done in the past, that our problem is not with the followers of Judaism, no, Judaism is a monotheistic religion as are Christianity and Islam. Our problem is only with the occupiers of our land and those denying our independence and freedom,” Abbas said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley responded to the statements made by President Abbas, rejecting claims of not recognizing the suffering of the Palestinian people, while stressing that Washington remained committed to fulfill its role in advancing a viable solution to the decades old conflict. That said, the American diplomat asserted that the Palestinians must choose between two different paths, including one that will lead to a historic solution, as was the case between Israel, Jordan and Egypt, while the other path would lead the Palestinians nowhere. “The Palestinian leadership has a choice to make between two different paths: There is the path of absolutist demands, hateful rhetoric and incitement to violence. That path has led and will continue to lead to nothing but hardship for the Palestinian people. Or, there is the path of negotiation and compromise. History has shown that path to be successful for Egypt and Jordan including the transfer of territory. That path remains open to the Palestinian leadership, if only it is courageous enough to take it. The United States knows the Palestinian leadership was very unhappy with the decision to move our embassy to Jerusalem. You don’t have to like that decision. You don’t have to praise it. You don’t even have to accept it. But know this that decision will not change. So once again you must choose between two paths: You can choose to denounce the United States, reject the U.S. role in peace talks and pursue punitive measures against Israel in international forums like the UN. I assure you that path will get the Palestinian people exactly nowhere toward the achievement of their aspirations. Or, you can choose to put aside your anger about the location of our embassy and move forward with us toward a negotiated compromise that holds great potential for improving the lives of the Palestinian people,” Haley said.
Israel’s Ambassador to the world body also responded to the Palestinian leader’s statement, during which he accused Abbas of continually seeking to use excuses that allows him to evade peace. “Mr. Abbas however is once again looking hard for an excuse. This time he claims it was the American announcement about Jerusalem that drove him to reject negotiations. By recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Trump simply stated what would be clear to everyone. Let me be clear, for thousands of years Jerusalem has been the heart and soul of our people. Jerusalem has been our capital since the days of King David, and Jerusalem will remain the undivided capital of the state of Israel forever,” Dannon Said.