US peace efforts ‘doomed to fail’

US efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are “doomed to fail”, the Palestinian National Authority, which has frozen contacts with Washington because of its perceived bias, said on Saturday.

PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told reporters that a regional tour last week by White House adviser Jared Kushner and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, would produce “no results”. According to Israeli media, they will visit Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“Without respect for Arab summit resolutions and those of the UN Security Council ... and especially without the accord of the Palestinian people ... (US peace efforts) will be doomed to fail and will destabilise the region,” Abu Rudeina said.

The Palestinians reacted furiously to Trump’s unprecedented and controversial announcement in December recognising occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving his country’s embassy there from Tel Aviv.