Abbas denies new Palestinian peace plan on conflict with Israel
The Arab League Summit comes at a crucial time for Abbas, who is slated to meet US President Donald Trump in the coming weeks.
By ADAM RASGONUpdated: MARCH 29, 2017 11:11Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas arrives to delivers a speech during the United Nations Human Rights Council on February 27, 2017 in Geneva(photo credit: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denied that the Palestinian leadership will present a new plan to the Arab League Summit in Jordan.“There are no new peace plans or initiatives,” Abbas told the Jordanian daily al-Ghad in an interview published on Wednesday.Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Abul Gheit told two different Arab newspapers in the past week that the Palestinians “promised to present a new plan” at the Arab League Summit.Trump invites Palestinian leader Abbas to White House (credit: REUTERS)In addition to Abbas, senior PLO official Ahmad Majdalani, PLO Executive Committee Secretary General Saeb Erekat, and Fatah Central Committee member have flatly denied Abul Gheit's statements.“As we have in the past, we support the Arab Peace Initiative as a resolution to the conflict. We have no new plan,” Majdalani told The Jerusalem Post in a telephone interview last Wednesday.The Arab Peace Initiative calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, an end of demands, and a “just and agreed upon” solution to the refugee issue.Abbas, who arrived in Jordan on Tuesday, is set to deliver a speech to the Arab League Summit on Wednesday.Abbas will reaffirm his support for the the two-state solution, continued action in international forums, and the need for the Arab world to treat the Palestinian issue as the main regional issue, according to Majdalani.The Arab League Summit comes at a crucial time for Abbas, who is slated to meet US President Donald Trump in the coming weeks.