US President Donald Trump's peace plan on the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict diverges from the existing internationally accepted parameters, Belgian Foreign and Defense MinisterPhilippe Goffin said on Tuesday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2020) US President Donald Trump's peace plan on the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict diverges from the existing internationally accepted parameters, Belgian Foreign and Defense Minister Philippe Goffin said on Tuesday.
"We remain committed to a negotiated two-state solution based on 1967 lines... with the state of Israel, and an independent democratic, contiguous, sovereign and the viable state of Palestine, living side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition," Goffin said. "The US initiative, as presented on the 28th of January, departs from these internationally agreed parameters."
Goffin is conducing a four-day visit to the United Nations as part of Belgian presidency of the UN Security Council during the month of February. Goffin was speaking on behalf of five current and former European Union member states - Belgium, Germany, France, Estonia and Poland - ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the US peace plan.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also arrived at the United Nations on Tuesday and rejected the US peace plan, often referred to as the "deal of the century."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed during the UN Security Council meeting that the United Nations remains committed to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution within recognized borders on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.
Under the US peace plan, Israel would annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, and have Jerusalem as its undivided capital. The Palestinians would have their own state with double the territory they currently hold and would receive $50 billion in investment to spur the economy.
