Arab League warns against ME deal without Palestine

CAIRO: The head of the Arab League warned on Monday that atempts to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict will be in vain without the establishment of a Palestinian state on all territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit’s comments appeared directed at a still unpublished peace plan that US President Donald Trump has dubbed the “deal of the century.”

As part of the plan, a Us-led conference will be held next week in Bahrain on proposals for the Palestinian economy.

The Palestinian leadership is boycoting the conference, saying Trump’s peace plan is likely to be heavily weighted in favour of Israel and to quash their aspirations for statehood in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

While the precise outlines of the drat plan have yet to be revealed, Palestinian and Arab sources who have been briefed on it say it jetisons the two-state solution.

“Whatever is rejected by the Palestinian or the Arab side is unacceptable,” Aboul Gheit said during an event at the Arab League.

“What is acceptable from our side as Arabs as a solution is the establishment of a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.

Based in Egypt, the Arab League remains the main forum for Arab opinion on international maters.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are its most influential members.

Aboul Gheit said that Israel’s acceptance of an Arab Peace Initiative drawn up by Saudi Arabia in 2002, which offers Israel normal ties in return for withdrawal from territory captured in 1967, was the only acceptable solution for Arab states.

“If (Israel) chooses the only reasonable and accepted way from our side as Arabs, which is the establishment of a Palestinian state ... it will be accepted in the region as a normal regional partner,” he said.

Last week, a White House official said Egypt, Jordan and Morocco planned to atend the Bahrain conference.

Palestinians urged Egypt and Jordan to reconsider their atendance at the Us-led conference in Bahrain, voicing concern it would weaken any Arab opposition to Washington’s coming peace plan.

Trump’s Middle East envoy hinted on Sunday at a further delay until early November to the unveiling of a White House peace plan for the Israeli-palestinian conflict.

“I think the logic would still dictate that if we wanted to wait until a new (Israeli) government is formed, we really do have to wait until potentially as late as Nov.6,” Jason Greenblat said in a Jerusalem Post interview.

The Trump administration had already delayed its presentation of the plan until ater Israel’s April 9 elections, but those polls failed to yield a government and a new election is slated for Sept.17.

A new government will potentially come into office in early November, following the selection of a potential premier and negotiations to form a coalition.

“It’s no secret that the Israeli elections have certainly put a new thought into our head,” Greenblat said, in a video of the New York interview published online.

“Had the elections not been called again, perhaps we would have released” details of the deal during the summer, he said.

Greenblat recalled that the Trump administration had already delayed presentation of the deal until ater the holy month of Ramadan, which ended in early June.

Israel will atend the upcoming conference on the economic aspects of Washington’s peace plan aimed at resolving the Israeli-palestinian conflict, Foreign Minister Israel Katz has said.

“Israel will be represented at the Bahrain economic workshop in a way that will be decided later on,” Katz wrote on Twiter late on Sunday.

“Israel has the ability to contribute to the development of the region with technology, innovation and other ways,” he added.

Asked by reporters to elaborate, a foreign ministry official did not say whether Israel would be represented by government officials or business leaders.

The June 25 and 26 gathering will see the unveiling of the economic aspects of the US initiative spearheaded by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The idea is to woo the Palestinians with the economic benefits if they accept the United State’s political proposals, which will be detailed at a later date yet to be announced.

The Palestinians have already rejected the plan, which they believe will be partial to Israel, and they are boycoting the Bahrain workshop.

The United Nations announced it would send its deputy Middle East co-ordinator to the event.

Relations soured between Washington and the Palestinians ater the Trump administration recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017.