Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, declared on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s "deal of the century" meant to bring an end to the Israeli-Arab conflict would not be implemented.
In an interview with Palestine TV, Ahmad reiterated that the U.S. was no longer suitable to make exclusive decisions on the peace process, a position taken by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas ever since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Ahmad claimed that Abbas’s diplomatic initiative, which was recently presented to the UN Security Council, received widespread support in the world.
In his address to the Security Council, Abbas presented an outline for resolving the conflict, which focused on international recognition of “Palestine” as a permanent member of the United Nations and the establishment of an international framework for negotiations on final status issues.
In addition, Abbas raised additional demands, including the full implementation of the Arab peace plan, the implementation of all relevant UN resolutions, adherence to the principle of a two-state solution and opposition to partial solutions including a state with temporary borders.
Ahmad claimed on Sunday that Trump’s peace plan was to have been presented on January 21, 2018, but was delayed because of the PA’s position.
In response to Abbas’s speech, the State Department said the United States would consider supporting the involvement of other countries in Israeli-PA peace talks in the future if it believes it would be helpful in reaching an accord.
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, responded to Abbas’s speech by making clear that while the United States is holding out its hand for peace, it will not chase after the Palestinian Arabs.