WASHINGTON – The US is crafting a surrender document, not a peace plan,and the Palestinians will not accept it regardless of how much money isoffered, Palestine’s foreign minister said Thursday. Riyad al-Maliki wasaddressing a meeting at the UN’s New York headquarters at which the US’sMiddle East peace negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, was present ahead of therollout of the US plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“This is not a peace plan but rather conditions for surrender,” he said.“And there is no amount of money that can make it acceptable.” “Some askus, ‘What if they surprise you?’ We tell them we would have been morehopeful had they not been deaf to our appeals, blind to Israeli violationsand mute, at best, on the fundamentals of peace, when not activelyundermining them,” he added.
Palestinian officials have ruled out a role for the US in peace talks afterthe Trump administration unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’scapital, upending long-established understandings that underpinnegotiations to end the conflict and establish a Palestinian stateside-by-side with Israel. “When the US, prior to announcing its plan,recognizes Jerusalem as the so-called ‘capital of Israel’ and claims theyare entitled to take such a sovereign decision that is in blatant violationof international law and UN Security Council resolutions and pretend it hasno implications on peace, it is not possible to have faith in suchefforts,” Maliki said.
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and special advisor,has said the peace plan he has led will be released sometime in June afterthe conclusion of the Muslim holy month of Ramazan. Maliki said there areover 600,000 Israeli settlers currently living in the occupied West Bank,insisting Israel is intent on annexing the areas where they live, butmaintained the Palestinian Authority is committed to brokering a two-statesolution through dialogue. “Despite this ongoing injustice, we remaincommitted to peace and the rule of international law. Why? Because it isthe only way forward.”