Abbas, at UN, calls for ME peace conference
Israel, US accuse him of 'running away from peace'
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas yesterday called for an international conference to be held later this year to launch a new, wider Middle East peace process and pave the way to Palestinian statehood.
In a rare address to the UN Security Council, Abbas presented a plan to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks under a new international peace process that would replace the US-led mediation.
President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital infuriated the Palestinians, who declared that Washington could no longer play a role as peace broker.
"To solve the Palestine question, it is essential to establish a multilateral international mechanism emanating from an international conference," Abbas said.
Abbas said the conference would be attended by Israel and the Palestinians, regional players, the five permanent Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and the diplomatic Quartet comprised of the European Union, Russia, US and the United Nations.
The gathering should lead to full UN membership for the state of Palestine, mutual recognition of Israel and Palestine, and the creation of a new international mechanism to reach a final settlement, he said.
The Palestinian leader immediately left the council chamber following his address, leading Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon to complain that Abbas was "running away" from dialogue.
Addressing the council, US Ambassador Nikki Haley warned that turning to the United Nations and rejecting the US role in peace talks "will get the Palestinian people exactly nowhere toward the achievement of their aspirations."
Haley was accompanied to the council meeting by Jason Greenblatt, the US envoy for Middle East peace and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and adviser on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.