NEW YORK – The Palestinian envoy to the UN suggests that China and ArabLeague (AL) could also be part of any future “peace process” on theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict, which should be “collective” and notdominated by the US.
“We’re saying a collective approach involving several players at minimumwould have a better chance of succeeding than the approach of only onecountry that is so close to Israel,” Riyadh Mansour told reporters onThursday.
The so-called peace process could involve the UN Security Council, said thediplomat, adding that the Middle East Quartet of mediators, namely the UN,the EU, Russia and the US, could also expand to include China and the ArabLeague.
“The Quartet plus China plus the league of Arab states plus maybe others… we could also look at that,” Mansour said.
The comments come amid anger among Palestinians at US President DonaldTrump’s latest hostile measures in favor of Israel, including his decisionlast December to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of the regimeand begin work to transfer Washington’s embassy from Tel Aviv to theoccupied city.
Trump’s declaration prompted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas toformally declare that Palestinians would no longer accept the US as amediator to resolve the decades-long conflict as Washington is “completelybiased” towards Tel Aviv.
In response to Abbas’ position, the Trump administration said in Januarythat it would withhold $65 million of a $125 million aid installment to theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
All rounds of talks between Israelis and Palestinians so far have stalledmainly due to the Tel Aviv regime’s refusal to stop its unlawful settlementexpansion on occupied territories.
Mansour further said such collective approach could also “of the nature ofthe French Paris conference or international conference.”
Early last year, scores of countries joined a gathering in Paris to discusspotential means of addressing the conflict.
US President Donald Trump has said his administration had a peace proposalin the works.
Sounding dismissive of any renewed US push at dictating the process, thePalestinian official said, “The old approach failed, and we’re looking fora new approach.”
“But of course if they started with ‘Jerusalem [al-Quds] is off the table’and punishing UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency)… what isleft on the table?” he asked.
“They lost the neutrality that is required of any broker that helps twoparties to reach a peace treaty,” Mansour said.
After break with the US as a peace broker, the Palestinian Authority sentdelegations to China and Russia to ask them to take a greater role in theMiddle East negotiation process.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abbas plan to discuss a possible newmediation mechanism to replace the Quartet when they meet next week, theInterfax news agency said Wednesday, citing a Palestinian diplomat inRussia.
In late January, Abbas addressed an African Union meeting in Ethiopia’scapital Addis Ababa, also calling on African states to join a multilateralmechanism to discuss the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.