Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not accept the so-called Deal of the Century peace proposal, which the US administration is planning to present soon.
“We rejected it, because it bypasses our rights that have been approved by international legitimacy,” Abbas said at the opening of the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the Arab Advisory Hospital in Ramallah.
“If they accept that we follow international legitimacy, our hands will remain extended to peace. Otherwise, we are here to stay. We are steadfast in our demands. We are here to call for our rights until we get them,” he added.
He made his comments ahead of Washington’s plans to uncover its deal after the end of the Israeli parliamentary elections that were held Tuesday.
“We are monitoring everything that is going on in the world, especially what is happening with our neighbors; and we hope they will follow the right path to reach peace,” he said.
The Palestinian president said he was ready to sit with any Israeli government if it believed in peace.
Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts have been stalled since 2014, with the failure of former US President Barack Obama’s administration to resolve Israel’s refusal to halt settlement constructions.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that he would not expel any settler from the West Bank under the new US plan.
The Palestinian presidency responded by stressing that the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were part of the State of Palestine, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, the latest of which is Resolution 2334, which affirmed the unity of the Palestinian land and the illegality of occupation and settlement.
