The following article by Jack Khoury was posted on the Haaretz website December 22, 2017:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came out Friday against the American peace initiative and said the Palestinians would not accept any plan made by the Americans due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem, a move that was widely rejected by the world in a UN vote Thursday.
In a Christmas letter to Christians, Abbas wrote that the Palestinians will not “accept any plan from the U.S.” due to the White House’s “biased” support of Israel and its settlement policy. He also said the American plan “is not going to be based on the two-state solution on the 1967 border, nor is it going to be based on international law or UN resolutions.”
Abbas’ letter was sent as he met with French President Emmanuel Macron, at the end of talks he held in Saudi Arabia as part of the international contacts the Palestinians conducted in response to Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem.
During a news conference in Paris, Abbas urged France and Europe to play a stronger role in peace efforts, saying the U.S. “no longer an honest mediator in the peace process.”
Macron was careful not to take sides, saying “the American mistake was to want to unilaterally manage from afar a situation whose solution is in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Sources close to Abbas said that the Christmas letter, that noted local churches’ objection to the change in American policy, was written in wake of Trump’s decision on Jerusalem, which Abbas described as an “insult to millions of people worldwide, and also to the city of Bethlehem.”
“This time every year, the souls of billions of people turn to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the messenger of love, peace and justice,” Abbas wrote in the latter.
“Bethlehem, the birthplace of hope, continues to be affected by Israeli policies. Regretfully, the U.S. has decided to reward such policies by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“It is because of this U.S. decision to support illegality and the blatant violations of our rights, that we will not accept the U.S. as the mediator in the peace process nor are we going to accept any plan from the U.S. side. The U.S. chose to be biased,” he wrote.
“We are inspired by the message of Jesus, who refused injustice and spread a word of hope. The Holy Bible says ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled.’ Threats against those who support justice will be met with the same spirit and response from our nation and from millions of dignified people around the world.”
A senior Palestinian official who was involved in the writing of the message told Haaretz that the Palestinian leadership had not received any messages or information on the peace plan supposedly being prepared by the White House and that there is almost a complete disconnect with the Trump administration.
On Thursday, Haaretz reported that Abbas dispatched his close adviser Nabil Sha’ath to Russia for talks with senior officials in the Kremlin, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Sha’ath will discuss the possibility of the Russians taking a more active role in the peace process, along with other nations such as China and France.
Because of the Russian involvement in Syria and their dealings with other Middle East countries, including Turkey and Iran, the Palestinians think Israel would be unable to ignore pressure from Moscow.
View the post here.