Abbas urges Arabs not to normalize ties with Israel
'I won't sit at a table where Trump plan is present'
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPresident Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting with the Palestinian leadership to discuss the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalize relations, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/POOL)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on the Arab countries to abide by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and refrain from normalizing their relations with Israel.Noting that the initiative calls for the Arabs to normalize their relations with Israel after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, Abbas said: “The Arabs must abide by their decisions. The Arab Peace Initiative was presented by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and since then it has been endorsed by the Arabs and the United Nations Security Council. The Arabs must reiterate their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative during the upcoming meeting of the Arab League, which will be chaired by Palestine.”Abbas, who was speaking during a videoconference meeting of leaders of all Palestinian factions in Ramallah and Beirut, said that the Palestinians did not and will not mandate anyone to speak on their behalf.In an implicit reference to the recent normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Abbas, who was speaking from his presidential Mukata compound in Ramallah, said: “Normalization schemes with the occupation are used as a poisonous dagger to stab our people. The [Israel-US-UAE] tripartite agreement is the latest poisonous dagger with which they stabbed us. We are meeting today to confront all these conspiracies.”Abbas told the faction leaders that the purpose of the meeting was to “move forward with a unified political position to end the division [between the West Bank and Gaza Strip], establish national and political partnership and hold presidential and parliamentary elections.”Abbas said that Thursday’s meeting, which was attended by leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, “comes during a dangerous phase in which the Palestinian cause is facing conspiracies and dangers, first and foremost the so-called Deal of the Century and the annexation plan.”He was referring to US President Donald Trump’s Peace to Prosperity vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was unveiled earlier this year. The “annexation plan” refers to Israel’s intention to apply its sovereignty to portions of the West Bank.“The entire world stood with us against the Deal of the Century and the annexation plan,” Abbas said. “We rejected the Deal of the Century and cut our ties with the US administration when it recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved its embassy to the city. “We also suspended our relations with the Israeli government and decided to absolve ourselves of the agreements we signed with them. On May 19 we took a clear decision that if Israel annexes our land, we will cut our ties with it, and if they begin to implement it, we will ask Israel to assume its responsibilities. We won’t backtrack on our position.”He added: “Anyone who accepts the annexation plan is a traitor. From here we affirm that we have not mandated anyone to speak on our behalf.”Abbas boasted that it was the Palestinians, and not the UAE, who forced Israel to call of its plan to apply its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. He also claimed that the Palestinians have thwarted the Trump peace plan.Abbas revealed that the Palestinians have paid a heavy price due to their positions. “True, these positions have created more difficulties for us,” he said. “Israel is withholding hundreds of millions of dollars from our tax revenues. They are stealing our money. The pressure on us and the Arabs has increased since the beginning of the year. These [Arab] countries have not met their financial obligations [towards the Palestinians].”Abbas accused the US of foiling the PA’s attempts to obtain loans from several countries. “We have asked many countries for loans,” he said. “But the US administration warned them not to give us money. They want us to collapse, but we won’t collapse. We have. Right; we have God on our side, and that’s sufficient to protect us.”Abbas accused the US and Israel of working to “erase” the Palestinian people and issue. The Trump plan, he said, offers the Palestinians a state that is like a “Swiss cheese” that is connected with a bridge or tunnel controlled by Israel.Abbas said the Palestinians were prepared to return to the negotiating table with Israel, but only under the umbrella of the UN and other international parties. “I won’t sit at a table where the Deal of the Century is present,” he emphasized. “We are prepared for an international peace conference under the umbrella of the UN on the basis of international resolutions and the Arab peace Initiative, which our [Arab] brothers have forgotten. We are committed to the principle of land for peace. We are not asking for the impossible. “We won’t accept the US as a sole mediator. We won’t accept the US plan it violates international law. It’s a unilateral decision that came from Trump.”
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