US envoy to Abbas: If you choose peace, America will be there
Craft tells UNSC and the Palestinians that the Trump peace is subject to change. "It is the beginning of a conversation – not the end of one," the Ambassador said.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUS Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft(photo credit: SCREEN CAPTURE/UN WEB TV)
The United States urged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to put aside past grievances and work together with Israel toward a better future for both people, when its Ambassador Kelly Craft spoke at special meeting of the United Nation Security Council on Tuesday.“If you choose the path to peace, America and many other countries will – we will be there,” Craft said.In spite of the enmity between the PA and the US, Craft chose a conciliatory approach when addressing Abbas, even though the intent of the meeting was to dismiss her government’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Most UNSC members dismissed the plan either subtly or outright, because it did not call for a two-state solution at the pre-1967 lines and allowed for Israel to annex 30% of the West Bank in its early stages.In response Craft said that the UN had more than 800 resolutions on the matter, but for more than half-a-century none of its actions had led to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.“With this record of failure this spectacular, it would be folly to suggest that this time was well spent, and that what is needed now is more of the same," she said.“It is understandable that emotions are running high today, and that strongly worded statements are being made. President Abbas, I heard you, I heard you speak of hope, I heard your words about the importance of hope. To keep hope alive there must be willingness to compromise, to engage in good faith,” Craft said.“We are not here to merely promise hope. Anyone can promise hope. We are here to deliver on hope because that is what leaders do. It is what we are called to do today,” Craft said.Rather than respond to fiery rhetoric, Craft said, she wanted to talk about how to move forward toward a brighter future, one that she believed Trump’s peace plan promised.She did not mention the Palestinian disappointment with the plan’s offer of only a fraction of east Jerusalem, handing them portions of the city on the other side of the barrier.
Instead she said, “this conceptual map represents a historic step toward the establishment of a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.”She added that the plan, “shows respect for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s special role in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem and ensures the ability of Muslims from around the world to worship at the al-Aqsa mosque.”The plan also offers them “more than 50 billion dollars” in investments that would end the cycle of poverty, Craft said.The details of the plan are subject to change, Craft said, explaining that the document “is an opening offer. It is the beginning of a conversation – not the end of one.”PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat tweeted in response that clearly Craft had not read the document. "The plan concluded the negotiations on all core issues, and [US envoy Jared] Kushner said it is the only basis for negotiations. i e : take it or leave it. Read it."
