The Borneo Post

Abbas rejects ‘biased’ US as sole Mideast mediator

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UNITED NATIONS, US: Palestinia­n leader Mahmud Abbas tore into the Trump administra­tion Thursday, refusing to accept the US as the sole mediator in the Middle East confl ict, a day after Donald Trump promised a ‘very fair’ peace plan.

The 82-year- old Palestinia­n Authority president used his address to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to lambast the US for closing the Palestine Liberation Organisati­on office in Washington, recognisin­g Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving its embassy and slashing Palestinia­n aid money.

Speaking a day after the US president said he favoured a two- state solution to end the Israeli- Palestinia­n conflict and vowed to unveil a new peace plan within months, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump for his ‘unwavering support’.

Abbas, however, said Trump had forfeited his right to be regarded as a neutral broker.

“We will also not accept sole American mediation in the peace process,” he said, accusing the former real estate tycoon of being ‘biased’ towards Israel since taking office in January 2017.

“With all of these decisions, this administra­tion has reneged on all previous US commitment­s, and even undermined the twostate solution,” Abbas told the world body in a nearly 40-minute speech.

“It’s really ironic that the American administra­tion still talks about what they call the ‘deal of the century.’”

Palestinia­n leaders have long seen Trump’s administra­tion as blatantly biased in favour of Israel and seeking to blackmail them into accepting their terms.

The Palestinia­n leadership cut off contact with the White

We will also not accept sole American mediation in the peace process.

House after Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last December and the UShas also cut more than US$ 500 million in Palestinia­n aid.

“From this august platform, I renew my call to President Trump to rescind his decisions and decrees ... in order to salvage the prospects for peace,” Abbas said.

Last February, Abbas called for an internatio­nal conference to relaunch the peace process under a new mediator to replace the US, in an address to the UN Security Council.

On Thursday, he said there could be no peace without an independen­t Palestinia­n state with east Jerusalem as its capital, calling on countries to recognise the state of Palestine.

“We are not against negotiatio­ns,” he added. “We will continue to extend our hands for peace.”

Trump pledged Wednesday to unveil a new peace plan by the end of the year, turning heads by supporting for the fi rst time a twostate solution.

His son-in-law Jared Kushner is part of a team working on the plan, whose efforts have been met with derision by Palestinia­ns who note that Israel has not been asked publicly for any concession­s in return for the Jerusalem recognitio­n.

When meeting Netanyahu on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Trump said he backed a two-state solution since “that’s what I think works best.”

His endorsemen­t of the goal of a Palestinia­n state, long the focus of US peace efforts before he came into office, was decidedly lukewarm — and he slightly backtracke­d from it later.

“If the Israelis and the Palestinia­ns want one state, that’s OK with me,” he said. “If they want two states, that’s OK with me. I’m happy if they’re happy.”

While Trump’s comments sparked concern among some Israeli right-wingers who hoped he would bury the idea of Palestinia­n statehood once and for all, Netanyahu had warm words for the president.

“I look forward to working with President Trump and his peace deal,” said Netanyahu in his speech in which he also praised Trump and the American ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, for their ‘unwavering support’ at the world body.

Israel has long argued that the UN’s Palestinia­n refugee agency, known as Unrwa, has perpetuate­d the Middle East conflict by maintainin­g the idea that millions of Palestinia­ns are refugees with a right to return to homes in what is now Israel.

The announceme­nt last month that the US — which had been Unrwa’s biggest contributo­r — would no longer fund the agency raised a question mark about the future of a range or social and welfare programs as well as fears that many schools would have to close.

Unrwa received pledges of 118 million Thursday from donor countries to help plug some of the gap.

Kuwait and the European Union were among the biggest contributo­rs, Unrwa chief Pierre Kraehenbue­hl told reporters.

Aside from cutting funds to Unrwa, the Trump administra­tion has also cut 200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinia­ns for projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. — AFP

Mahmud Abbas, Palestinia­n leader

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 ??  ?? Hundreds of Palestinia­ns gather in the West Bank city of Ramallah to watch on a large screen as Abbas addresses the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York. — AFP photo
Hundreds of Palestinia­ns gather in the West Bank city of Ramallah to watch on a large screen as Abbas addresses the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York. — AFP photo

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