Palestine seeks Africa’s help in peace talks
GAZA CITY: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the AU and its member states to play a role in a multilateral mechanism for the peace process between the Palestinians and Israel.
Abbas made the comments on Sunday at the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which multiple African heads of state attended, reported Israel’s Jerusalem Post.
“Pursuing peace efforts requires the establishment of a multilateral mechanism under the umbrella of the United Nations, and we call for the AU and its member states to have representatives in this mechanism,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last month, and the decision to relocate the American embassy there next year, pushed the Palestinians into declaring that they would no longer co-operate with an American-dominated peace process.
Instead the Palestinian Authority leadership is looking to the EU as more impartial mediators.
To this end, last week in Brussels Abbas asked foreign ministers of the EU’s member states to help in establishing a multilateral mechanism for the peace process.
The Palestinian leader also invited African states to take part in an international conference “in accordance with international resolutions, the principle of the two-state solution along 1967 borders and ending the Israeli occupation”.
The international conference could follow the example of a previous one – the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991.
Abbas further appealed to African states not to establish diplomatic offices in Jerusalem.
“We affirm the importance of all states committing to refraining from establishing diplomatic offices in Jerusalem in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 478,” he said.
Abbas commiserated with Africans over Trump’s description of African countries as “shitholes”.
“We condemn any insult from any party against the friendly African states and their peoples.
“Africa and its native peoples have made great contributions to human civilisation for centuries,” he told those attending the AU summit. The Palestinian further praised the AU for its support of the Palestinian issue, adding that the Palestinians “rely on the consistency of your noble positions, especially in light of the conspiracies to sidestep our people’s rights and liquidate its just issue”.
Many African countries have historically supported the Palestinian cause in the international arena, including the UN’s General Assembly.
But Israel has responded by working hard to make diplomatic inroads on the continent in an endeavour to get African backing for its positions in international bodies.
This has included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelling to Africa twice in the last year to meet the continent’s leaders.