GAZA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2020) The Palestinian leadership has called on the Arab countries' ambassadors to not partake in the announcement ceremony of the US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian "deal of the century" peace plan, which President Donald Trump intends to reveal on Tuesday, the WAFA news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Trump said his administration would be announcing the plan on January 28 at 12:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. GMT). He refused to disclose any specifics, but said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz, who is also in Washington for separate discussions, would very much like the initiative.
Trump added that the plan had been shown to many of the Arab countries which "have agreed to it," seeing it as an opportunity to attain a broader regional peace.
"We urge the Arab and Muslim ambassadors invited [to the ceremony] to no participate tomorrow [Tuesday] in the announcement of the 'deal of the century'," Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh was quoted as saying by the media outlet.
The official added that Palestine appreciated some Arab countries refusing to participate in the event.
The Palestinians became skeptical about the US mediation role in settling their conflict with Israel after Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state in late 2017. The decisions were met with outrage in the Arab world and criticism on the part of the United Nations. In addition, last November, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington no longer considers Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territories to be illegal, a statement that contradicted not only a UNSC resolution on the issue but US' previous policy.
