Palestinians: Peace talks only through UN-sponsored international parley
The officials told The Jerusalem Post that the peace talks should be held only through an international peace conference and under the auspices of the United Nations.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank May 19, 2020(photo credit: ALAA BADARNEH/POOL VIA REUTERS)
Palestinian officials said on Tuesday they are prepared to resume peace negotiations with Israel only after it cancels its plan to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.The officials told The Jerusalem Post that the peace talks should be held only through an international peace conference and under the auspices of the United Nations.Several Palestinian factions, meanwhile, called for protests in the West Bank on Wednesday against the Israeli plan. The factions urged Palestinians to clash with IDF soldiers as part of a “day of rage” in protest of the annexation plan.“The Palestinian position remains unchanged and firm,” one official told the Post. “We are calling for an international conference under the umbrella of the UN and with wide participation of international parties on the basis of international legitimacy and the [2002] Arab Peace Initiative.”The official said that it was “premature” to talk about the resumption of any peace process as long as Israel proceeds with its plan to extend its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.Another Palestinian official told the Post that the Palestinian leadership remains committed at this phase to PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s May 18 decision to renounce all agreements and understandings with Israel and the US administration.“The US administration has disqualified itself from playing any role in the Middle East peace process because of its blind bias in favor of Israel,” the official said. “That’s why we are now insisting that the UN and other international parties and countries increase their role in the conflict. Our goal is to end US hegemony over the peace process.”Palestinian officials on Tuesday stepped up their efforts to prevent Israel from carrying out its annexation plan.The officials held a series of meetings in Ramallah with foreign diplomats and warned of the “dangers” and “grave repercussions” of the Israeli plan and called on the international community to pressure Israel to backtrack.In a related development, a PA official confirmed that the Palestinians have offered to resume peace negotiations with Israel.The offer was included in a letter the Palestinians sent in early June to the Quartet, which consists of the US, UN, EU, and Russia, the official said.The official, who was responding to a Monday dispatch by AFP, said that PAPrime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh had talked about the letter to the Quartet during a meeting with the Foreign Press Association on June 9.At the meeting, Shtayyeh revealed that the Palestinians presented a counter-offer to US President Donald Trump’s plan for Mideast peace, also known as the Deal of the Century.The counter-offer, Shtayyeh said, calls for the establishment of an independent, sovereign and demilitarized Palestinian state.
