Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas demanded that US President Donald Trump makes compensations for his Jerusalem declaration and the removal of the current US negotiating team before the two leaders can meet, Israeli and US sources said.
Israeli television published a report quoting sources saying that Abbas told mediators that Trump tried to persuade him into a meeting.
Palestinian officials declined to comment on the authenticity of leaks but said any meeting between Abbas and Trump would not happen without a big political price.
The report said that Trump used Jordanian and Egyptian resources to pressure Abbas, in order to restore Palestinian-American relations as a prelude to relaunching negotiations.
According to sources, Abbas called for a meeting at the UN on the 20th of this month, where he is scheduled to deliver an annual address to the General Assembly.
Abbas demanded that Trump fires his Middle East negotiating team, including envoy Jason Greenblatt and the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. He had previously asked for the replacement of Greenblatt in particular.
Greenblatt's latest article illustrates the biased position of the US administration, Palestinian authorities said.
Greenblatt personally is in favor of Israel and completely for eliminating legitimate demands made by Palestinians, the official said.
“Without undoing the decision hand over Jerusalem to Israel, there will be no progress by the Americans, and President Abbas will not go to give Trump a gift for his meeting,” a source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“The decision must be reversed, or Trump should declare that East Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinians. This is the only acceptable compensation,” the source added.
