Saturday, February 01, 2020


Palestine: UN reiterates two-state solution based on 1967 borders

January 30, 2020 


The United Nations stressed on Wednesday its adherence to international legitimacy resolutions on the conflict in the Middle East, and bilateral agreements on the establishment of two states, living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders based on the 1967 borders.

The United Nations renewed its commitment to assist the Palestinians and Israelis in resolving the conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements.

UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement after the publication of the US Middle East peace plan known as the Deal of the Century that UN Secretary-General António Guterres pledged to help the Palestinians and Israelis to reach peace based on international resolutions, international law, bilateral agreements and the two-state vision based on the pre-1967 borders.

Dujarric added that the organisation adheres to international legitimacy resolutions and bilateral agreements on establishing two states “living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders based on the 1967 borders.”

Read: Mandela’s grandson calls Trump plan ‘greatest hoax’

US President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday evening his peace plan in the Middle East, which he said it provides a “realistic solution” to the Palestinian and Israeli states, noting that it is made up of 80 pages and is different from the rest of the previous US administrations.

In Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed, in response to Trump’s plan, that “the city of Jerusalem is not “for sale”, considering that this plan is “a conspiracy that will not pass and will be placed in the dustbin of history by the Palestinian people.”

Prior to that, the Palestinian Authority anticipated the US’s announcement of the ‘Deal of the Century’ by calling for an emergency meeting of the Arab League. It stressed its adherence to the two-state solution on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and its rejection of any deal that is not based on this principle.


Palestine cancels 1995 Oslo Accords signed with Israel



Iconic handshake between PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli 
President Shimon Peres during the Oslo accords 
[Council on Foreign Relations/YouTube]

January 31, 2020

Palestine on Thursday cancelled the 1995 Oslo Accords signed with Israel, Anadolu reports.

“Israel has been informed that the Palestinian administration will not adhere to the agreements between them,” the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh said in a televised interview with Al-Jazeera.

Sheikh also expressed hope that Arab and Islamic countries will be a force that supports the Palestinian attitude.

At the request of Palestine, the Arab League will hold an extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level on February 1 to discuss the so-called peace plan.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump released his much-hyped plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian dispute during a press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his side.

There was, however, no Palestinian representative at the announcement, which saw Trump referring to Jerusalem as “Israel’s undivided capital”.

Read: What is the ‘deal of the century’, and what happens after it is rejected?

Trump’s so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and has drawn criticism for giving Israel almost everything it demanded.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B and C.

Israel prevents Palestinians from conducting construction projects in parts of the West Bank designated as Area C under the agreement, which falls under administrative and security control of Israel.

Area C is currently home to 300,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are Bedouins and herding communities who predominantly live in tents, caravans and caves.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.

No comments: