Trump’s plan a gift to Israel
- Israel ex-PM Olmert defiantly rallies behind Palestinian leader
- UN identifies 112 firms linked to Israeli settlements
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, appearing before the United Nations Security Council, on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace proposal as a gift to Israel and unacceptable to Palestinians.
Waving a copy of a map that the US plan envisions for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, Abbas said the state carved out for Palestinians looked like a fragmented "Swiss cheese."
In a setback for the Palestinians, a draft Security Council resolution circulated by Tunisia and Indonesia that would have implicitly criticized Trump's plan, including Israel's retention of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, was not put to a vote.
The text, which faced a near-certain US veto, did not go forward in part because it failed to garner the support needed by the Palestinians to isolate the United States, two diplomats at the United Nations said. One said the draft, which the United States wanted to water down, attracted 11 or 12 votes in favor on the 15-member council.
Released on Jan 28, Trump's plan would recognize Israel's authority over West Bank Jewish settlements and require Palestinians meet a difficult series of conditions for a state, with its capital in a West Bank village east of Jerusalem.
"This is the state that they will give us," said Abbas. "It's like a Swiss cheese, really. Who among you will accept a similar state and similar conditions?"
Abbas urged Trump to disavow the plan and seek a return to negotiations based on existing UN resolutions that call for a two-state solution based on pre-1967 border lines.
While Arab League foreign ministers on Feb 1 rejected the plan, three Gulf Arab states - Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates - were represented at the White House announcement, suggesting they may be prioritizing ties with Washington and a shared hostility toward Iran over traditional Arab alliances.
Abbas said the deal is not an international partnership, but rather a proposal from one state supported by another state to be imposed on Palestinians.
In a show of support for Abbas, Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli prime minister who had claimed significant progress in talks with the Palestinians aimed at securing a final peace deal, later stood by him at a joint appearance.
A Feb 5-8 poll conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 94% of Palestinians reject the plan.
Meanwhile, the UN has released a list of 112 companies with activities in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, including Airbnb, Expedia and TripAdvisor.
Israeli officials fear the list could be used to boycott firms with ties to the Israeli settlements.
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