Palestinian PM calls on world to boycott Trump peace plan
RAMALLAH: Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh yesterday urged international powers to boycott US President Donald Trump’s “peace plan” which they see as biased towards Israel. “This a plan to protect Trump from impeachment and protect (Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu from prison. It is not a Middle East peace plan,” Shtayyeh told a cabinet meeting. “This plan gives Israel sovereignty over Palestinian territory,” he said.
Trump is expected to unveil his “peace plan” for the Middle East after hosting in Washington Netanyahu and his political rival Benny Gantz. It comes as Trump is facing an impeachment trial in the Senate while Netanyahu, who is facing indictment over corruption allegations, will contest an election next month which Gantz is hoping to win. “We call on the international community to not be partners in this because it contravenes international law,” Shtayyeh
told the Palestinian cabinet. “The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale.”
The Palestinians have not been invited to Washington, having cut all ties with the Trump administration over its pro-Israel stance. The plan is widely expected to be the most favorable towards Israel ever proposed by the United States, with alleged leaks - denied by Trump - suggesting it could declare settlements in the occupied West Bank legal. The US proposal could also pull back from the creation of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital after Trump in 2018 recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. —AFP