Palestinians recall envoys to four EU nations after US embassy move

i24 News (Israel) — Wed, 16 May 2018 04:39:17 +0000

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas gestures as he chairs a Palestinian National Council meeting in Ramallah on April 30, 2018
ABBAS MOMANI (AFP)

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has recalled its envoys to Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria after their ambassadors attended an Israeli reception marking the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem, it said Wednesday.

The statement from the PA’s foreign ministry said the EU nations’ ambassadors had attended the reception the day before the US opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem on Monday.

The statement said that the PA considered the envoys’ participation in the reception “a gross violation of international law and several United Nations resolutions that confirmed that Jerusalem is occupied territory since 1967 and forbid countries from moving their embassies to this city.”

“The recalls are to consult with our ambassadors to these states about their positions and their commitment to the EU’s positions.”

Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary broke with European consensus in accepting invitations to the Sunday reception, which most EU ambassadors declined in keeping with its official opposition to the embassy move.

Ivanka Trump takes a selfie at the US embassy in Jerusalem with husband Jared Kushner, Sara Netanyahu and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 15 2018.
Kobi Gideon/GPO

The European Union opposed the US move of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“We highly appreciate the commitment of most [EU] member states to international law and UN resolutions related to the Palestinian cause,” the PA statement said.

The embassy move and Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has deeply angered Palestinians, who see the Arab-majority eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state.

Only a day earlier PA President Abbas ordered the top Palestinian representative in Washington to return home.

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) envoy in Washington DC, was expected to arrive back in Ramallah on Wednesday.

Zomlot was also recalled in December after US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his to decision to relocate the US embassy to the disputed city, which he also recognized as Israel’s capital.

The Palestinian leadership has effectively refused to speak to Trump’s team since the move was announced, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is supposed to be spearheading a new drive for peace.

Zomlot himself has described the embassy move as another step toward “a full-fledged apartheid.”

Asked for confirmation and comment on the Palestinian announcement, a State Department spokesperson referred i24NEWS to the PLO office.

(Staff with AFP)

Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/174841-180516-palestinians-recall-envoys-to-four-eu-nations-after-us-embassy-move

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The post Palestinians recall envoys to four EU nations after US embassy move first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Palestinian leaders advise suspending recognition of Israel

Abeer Salman and Andrew Carey, CNN — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 18:04:34 +0000

Jerusalem (CNN) Palestinian leaders have called on the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to suspend its recognition of Israel just days after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged the group to “revise” its agreements with the Jewish state.

Abbas is head of the PLO, which formally represents all Palestinians. The Palestinian leadership has ratcheted up its criticism of Israel and the US since President Donald Trump’s controversial announcement that Washington recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a press conference in Paris in December

A PLO Central Council statement on Monday called on the organization to suspend its recognition of Israel, first affirmed by the Palestinian body in 1993, until Israel recognized the state of Palestine, based on borders that existed before the Six-Day War of 1967. The council also demanded that Israel revoke a decision to annex East Jerusalem and cease settlement activity in the West Bank.

The announcement came at the end of a two-day Central Council meeting, held in the West Bank town of Ramallah, in response to the policy announced by Trump last month.

In a defiant speech on Sunday, Abbas called on the Central Council to “revise all the agreements signed between the PLO and Israel because Israel has brought these agreements to a dead end.”

Abbas said Israel had “ended the Oslo agreement” so the PLO Central Council must decide “where should we go from here?”

Oslo Accords Fast Facts

The Oslo accords brought into being the Palestinian Authority to assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza, and included provisions for Israel’s eventual withdrawal from the West Bank.

During a speech at the PLO Central Council meeting, Abbas also appeared to confirm reports that the Trump administration has earmarked Abu Dis, a town adjacent to Jerusalem, as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

“Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the state of Palestine,” Abbas told delegates. “We are at a critical moment and our future is in danger… We are currently being offered Abu Dis as our capital.”

Abbas slams US, others in defiant speech

The White House has so far said little about its peace plans, and made no comment on any specific proposals it might have for the location of any Palestinian capital.

In its Monday statement, the Central Council also called on the PLO to suspend security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Security coordination is regarded by both sides as one of the few successfully functioning elements of the 1993 Oslo accords, which marked the beginning of official negotiations between the PLO and Israel for a two-state solution.

Israel deals new blow to 2-state solution 02:37

The council statement said the PLO refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, while appealing to the United Nations to sponsor the peace process and reiterating PLO support for a peace initiative first proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002.

The Arab Peace Initiative offers Israel “normal relations” with Arab countries in exchange for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees.

Abbas’ speech was highly critical of Israel, and received widespread condemnation from Israeli leaders, some of whom suggested it smacked of anti-Semitism.

The PLO Central Council meets only rarely and is generally regarded as passing its decisions on to the PLO Executive Committee for full implementation.

An earlier decision by the council in 2015 to cease security coordination was never implemented by the PLO executive.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/middleeast/palestinian-leader-israel-recognition-intl/index.html

[Disclaimer]

The post Palestinian leaders advise suspending recognition of Israel first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

Palestinians recall envoys to four EU nations after US embassy move

Palestinian leaders advise suspending recognition of Israel

Israel deals new blow to 2-state solution 02:37