Palestinians shun peace meeting
WASHINGTON: Palestinian officials have been invited to a US conference on the Middle East hosted by Poland this week, a US official said on Saturday, but top Palestinian officials said they would not attend.
The official told reporters White House senior adviser Jared Kushner would discuss plans for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis at the event.
Kushner ‘‘will discuss the administration’s efforts to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians and also take questions from the audience’’, the official said.
‘‘We would very much welcome the Palestinian Authority’s perspectives during the discussion, but I do want to emphasise this is not a negotiation but a discussion, and we look forward to fostering a constructive conversation in Warsaw.’’
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat quickly rejected the invitation, tweeting: ‘‘Regarding statements that we have been invited, we can say that only today there was some contact from the Polish side.
‘‘Our position remains clear: We are not going to attend this conference and reiterate that we have not mandated anyone to talk on behalf of Palestine.’’
In another tweet, he said: ‘‘The US administration dismissed itself from sponsoring the peace process because of its decisions that are contradictory to the international law.’’
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the United States to reverse its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and cuts in aid to the Palestinians, saying these undermined efforts to reach a twostate solution to the longstanding conflict.
In a separate tweet, Hussein AlSheikh, a senior Palestinian Authority official, also rejected the invitation, saying only the Palestine Liberation Organisation could speak on behalf of the Palestinian people.
The State Department has said more than 40 countries will attend the conference in Warsaw, from tomorrow until Thursday. — Reuters