US not ‘ honest broker’ in West Asia: Abbas

Ramallah, Feb. 9: The US has disqualified itself from being an “honest broker” in the Middle East peace process, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has said as he criticised his American counterpart Donald Trump for his “illegal” decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Mr Trump’s Jerusalem move angered the Palestinians, sparked protests in the Middle East and raised concern that it could further destabilise the region.

The status of Jerusalem is the centre of Palestine’s conflict with Israel. The city is home to key religious sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, especially in East Jerusalem.

Mr Abbas lashed out at the United States’ decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and slashing the aid package to the Palestinians as “unconstructive” measures.

He said Trump’s move will only delay reaching a final agreement.

“The US Administration disqualified itself from being an honest broker, and should not be the sole mediator in the peace process,” the Palestine president told PTI in an e- mail interview.

In a dig at Mr Trump’s assertion regarding working out an ultimate deal during his tenure, the Palestinian President said that they “have not received any proposals”, but only “sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem”.

“Concerning the so called ultimate deal, we have not received any proposals for a peace plan until the moment. We keep hearing of an ultimate deal that the US President is going to present to the sides, but no one has proposed anything, but instead, President Trump announced his sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem,” he said.

The US Administration disqualified itself from being an honest broker, and should not be the sole mediator in the peace process Mahmoud Abbas,

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Palestine President