Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to reject President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan, saying it would splinter Palestinian lands and never bring lasting peace.
Brandishing a large map of a future Palestine as laid out by Trump, Abbas denounced it as a “Swiss cheese” deal that would give the Palestinians only a “fragmented state” without control of their airspace, sea or East Jerusalem.
“Who among you would accept such a state?” Abbas asked, as he warned that Israel would create an “apartheid” situation if it moves ahead with annexation.
“I would like to say to Mr Donald Trump that his plan cannot achieve peace and security as it cancels international legitimacy,” Abbas said.
“It cancels all the rights of the Palestinians. This does not meet the aspirations of a two-state solution,” he said.
“If you impose peace it will not last, it cannot last.”
The Palestinians have sought to rally international support against the plan, which Trump unveiled alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 28.
But in a setback, the Palestinians dropped plans for a vote on a resolution Tuesday that would denounce the proposal.
Diplomats said that the United States has put heavy pressure, including threats of financial repercussions, on Security Council members and that even some European nations were hesitant.
Abbas said that peace with Israel remained “achievable” and said: “I have come to build a just partnership.”
“This deal is not an international partnership. This proposal was from one state, supported by another state to be imposed.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, replied that Abbas stood in the way of a solution.
“Only when he steps down can Israel and the Palestinians move forward,” Danon said.
“He is trying to blame the lack of progress on Israel. Complaining instead of leading is not leadership,” he said, calling on the Palestinians to find a “realistic solution.”
Despite the Palestinians’ refusal to deal with Trump, and just within hours after Trump unveiled the plan, Netanyahu began to move forward with plans to annex much of the West Bank.
On Tuesday, the four European Union members of the Security Council, France, Germany, Belgium and Estonia, as well as Poland, which left the council at the end of last year, jointly said that any Middle East solution needs to be based on pre-1967 lines.
