The US is crafting a surrender document, not a peace plan, and the Palestinians will not accept it regardless of how much money is offered, Palestine's foreign minister said addressing a meeting at the United Nations
GAZA (Pakistan Point News / Online - 10th May, 2019) The US is crafting a surrender document, not a peace plan, and the Palestinians will not accept it regardless of how much money is offered, Palestine's foreign minister said addressing a meeting at the United Nations.Riyad al-Maliki was on Thursday expressing the Palestinian stance on the proposed plan by the Trump administration to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."This is not a peace plan but rather conditions for surrender," al-Maliki said as the US's middle East peace negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, listened on.
"And there is no amount of money that can make it acceptable.""Some ask us, 'what if they surprise you?' we tell them we would have been more hopeful had they not been deaf to our appeals, blind to Israeli violations and mute, at best, on the fundamentals of peace, when not actively undermining them," he added.Palestinian officials have ruled out a role for the US in peace talks after the Trump administration unilaterally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, upending long-established understandings that underpin negotiations to end the conflict and establish a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel.
"When the US, prior to announcing its plan, recognises Jerusalem as the so-called 'capital of Israel' and claims they are entitled to take such a sovereign decision that is in blatant violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions and pretend it has no implications on peace, it is not possible to have faith in such efforts," Maliki said.Greenblatt said it was "surprising and unfair" that Indonesia, Kuwait and South Africa organised the council meeting and condemned Israel's behavior when it "was not even invited to speak at this session".
He added that it was "inspiring" to see Israel celebrate the 71st anniversary of its independence on Thursday, calling it "a small brave country" that grew to a "thriving, diverse economically vibrant democracy," the only one in the Middle East.He called the council's "obsessive" focus on Israeli settlements a "farce," saying settlements aren't keeping Israel and the Palestinians from negotiating peace, and said the council should instead condemn Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for recently firing hundreds of rockets into Israel from Gaza.
