UNITED NATIONS, Feb 11 (APP):Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed an American plan aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying it is in breach of United Nations resolutions and Palestinian sovereignty.
Brandishing a large map of Israel and Palestine as laid out by Trump’s long-awaited January 28 plan in the UN Security Council on Tuesday, he called it a “Swiss cheese” deal that would limit Palestinian sovereignty.
“This is the summary of the project that was presented to us. This is the state they will give us. It’s like a Swiss cheese, really. Who among you will accept a similar state?” Abbas posed the question.
“I would like to say to Mr. Donald Trump that his plan cannot achieve peace and security as it cancels international legitimacy,” Abbas told the 15-member Council in a speech, referring to the US president.
“It cancels all the rights of the Palestinians. This does not meet the aspirations of a two-state solution,” he added.
Stressing that the plan would legitimize Israel’s illegal settlements and the annexation of occupied Palestinian land, Abbas said, “If you impose peace, it will not last, it cannot last. What gives you the right to annex these lands?”
The Palestinian president also called on the international community not to consider the plan as an international reference for negotiations, saying, “It is an Israeli-American preemptive plan in order to put an end to the question of Palestine.”
The plan calls for the recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital,” although Palestinians want the city’s eastern part as the capital of their future state.
The US president also said under the plan, Israel would be annexing the settlements that it has been building in the West Bank since occupying the Palestinian territory in 1967.
This is while all previous foreign-mediated draft agreements between the Palestinians and Israelis as well as repeated United Nations resolutions have mandated Tel Aviv to withdraw behind the 1967 borders.
The speech delivered by Abbas at the UN came as thousands of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank once again protested against Trump’s so-called “deal of the century.”
The protesters, estimated to be 5,000 to 7,000 in number, gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, according to news reports.
Demanding the international recognition of Palestine with Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital, the demonstrators chanted “Palestine not for sale,” and “No to the deal of the century,” using Trump’s description of the plan.
Similar mass demonstrations also took place elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, as some 2,000 people came out in support of the Palestinian president and to voice firm objection to the deal.
“As the world watches you and all these crowds that fill the streets of Ramallah and Gaza, they will understand the Palestinian reaction [to the plan],” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh while addressing the crowds in Ramallah.
“These people sent a message to President Abbas that we stand behind you to bring down the deal of shame,” he added.
Meanwhile, clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces after dozen of protesters marched to an Israeli military checkpoint north of Ramallah.
