Abbas sets conditions for hearing out Trump’s anticipated peace plan
Multiple White House officials have recently said the Trump administration is finalizing its plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
By ADAM RASGONUpdated: APRIL 9, 2018 10:12Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations, February 2018(photo credit: LUCAS JACKSON / REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership will only engage with the Trump administration’s anticipated peace plan if it backs a two-state solution and recognizes east Jerusalem as the capital of “the State of Palestine.”“We will not listen to anything that comes [from the Trump administration], regardless of what it is, unless if the two-state solution [is endorsed] and east Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine is recognized,” he said at a meeting of the Fatah Central Committee. “If that happens, we can talk about rest of the issues remaining on the table.”Abbas slams Trump on Jerusalem, calls for peace conference, February 20, 2018 (Reuters)After US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and initiated the relocation of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to the city, Abbas said on several occasions that the Palestinians will no longer work with the traditional American-led peace process and called for a multilaterally-mediated peace process to replace it.In his comments on Sunday, Abbas did not clarify if he would be willing to accept an American-led peace process in addition to engaging the Trump administration on its anticipated plan, if it backs the two-state solution and recognizes east Jerusalem as the capital of a future State of Palestine.Multiple White House officials have recently said the Trump administration is finalizing a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
