WATCH LIVE: PA President Mahmoud Abbas addresses UN Security Council
In the past two months, Abbas has asked several countries around the world to mediate and support a multilateral peace process in lieu of the United States.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: FEBRUARY 20, 2018 18:13Mahmoud Abbas speaks to the UN Security Council on February 20, 2018. (Youtube/The United Nations)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the United Nations Security Council in New York City on Tuesday, calling for a "multilateral international mechanism" for the peace process, in lieu of US brokerage, and called on countries to recognize a Palestinian state."Therefore, to solve the Palestine question, and this is our position and our belief, it is essential to establish a multilateral international mechanism emanating from an international conference," Abbas said about the peace process.He also made an explicit call for recognition of a Palestinian state. "Recognition doesn't go against negotiations, it rather promotes negotiations. Therefore I call upon the members who have yet to recognize the state of Palestine to do so. And in the future we will intensify our efforts to achieve admissions to full membership in the United Nations."PLO Executive Committee Member Ahmad Majdalani told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that Abbas will ask the Security Council to support holding an international conference in order establish a multilateral peace process.Since United States President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and initiated the relocation of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to the city, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinians will no longer work with an American-dominated peace process and has called for the creation of a multilateral peace process to replace it.In the past two months, Abbas has asked several countries around the world to mediate and support such a multilateral process.“We believe the permanent members of the Security Council and a few other states should take charge of mediating a multilateral peace process,” Majdalani said.Israel has said it will only work with an American-led peace process. Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, the US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the peace process, are also in attendance for the speech.Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, responded in fury."Mr Abbas, you have made it clear, with your words and with your actions that you are no longer part of the solution, you are the problem," he opened his speech.