Los Angeles Times

‘ Genuine’ Mideast peace process is urged

Palestinia­n president, in a U. N. speech, criticizes two Arab nations for reaching a deal with Israel.

-

JERUSALEM — Palestinia­n President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday called for an internatio­nal conference early next year to launch a “genuine peace process” while criticizin­g the recent decision of two Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel.

Abbas seemed to acknowledg­e the growing internatio­nal weariness with the decades- old conf lict as he delivered the latest in a long series of addresses to the U. N. General Assembly.

“I wondered while preparing this statement what more could I tell you, after all that I have said in previous statements,” he said in the video address from his headquarte­rs in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Palestinia­ns have rejected President Trump’s proposal to end the conflict, which overwhelmi­ngly favors Israel, and have officially cut off contacts with both the U. S. and Israel.

Arguing that Washington is no longer an honest broker, they have called for a multilater­al peace process based on U. N. resolution­s and past agreements.

They have also rejected the decision of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize ties with Israel, viewing it as a betrayal of the long- standing Arab consensus that recognitio­n of Israel should only come in exchange for territoria­l concession­s.

Israel’s U. N. Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, responded with a video statement calling Abbas’ speech a collection of “lies and incitement against Israel” and arguing that the Palestinia­n leader was “desperate” because of the agreements Israel reached with Bahrain and the UAE.

“All Abbas showed was continued Palestinia­n rejectioni­sm,” Erdan said.

In his speech, Abbas said the agreements, signed at the White House earlier this month, are a “violation” of the “principles of a just and lasting solution under internatio­nal law.”

For more than three decades, the Palestinia­ns have sought an independen­t state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territorie­s seized by Israel in the 1967 war.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but imposed a crippling blockade when the Palestinia­n militant group Hamas seized power from Abbas’ forces in 2007.

There have been no substantiv­e peace talks between Israel and the Palestinia­ns since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was f irst elected more than a decade ago, and the two sides are fiercely divided over the core issues of the conflict.

Instead, Netanyahu has focused on building ties with Arab, African and Asian countries that have long supported the Palestinia­n cause.

In Israel, the agreement with the United Arab Emirates, an oil- rich country with considerab­le regional inf luence, is seen as a historic breakthrou­gh that could transform the Middle East.

Israel put on hold its plans to annex up to a third of the occupied West Bank following the deal with the UAE, while saying it still plans to eventually go through with them. The UAE said the agreement removed an immediate threat to the two- state solution and gave the region a window of opportunit­y.

The Palestinia­ns insist that the core Middle East conf lict will not be resolved until they realize their aspiration­s for independen­ce.

“We will not kneel or surrender, and we will not deviate from our fundamenta­l positions, and we shall overcome,” Abbas said, speaking behind a plaque that read “State of Palestine.”

“There will be no peace, no security, no stability and no coexistenc­e in our region while this occupation continues.”

 ?? I ssam Rimawi Anadolu Agency ?? PALESTINIA­N PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah this month. Abbas delivered an address to the U. N. General Assembly.
I ssam Rimawi Anadolu Agency PALESTINIA­N PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah this month. Abbas delivered an address to the U. N. General Assembly.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States