Olmert, Abbas In New York Against 'Century Deal'

Arab World

February 7th, 9:35am

Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally

Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem July 16, 2007, in this picture released by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO). REUTERS/Omar Rashidi/PPO/Handout

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to launch a joint campaign against the US peace plan known as the “deal of the century”, in which they would assert the presence of a better formula to reach “a real and comprehensive peace agreement between Israel, the Palestinians and all Arabs.” The campaign will be launched at a joint press conference in New York, in conjunction with the closed UN Security Council session next week, which will be devoted to discussing the US deal. Political sources in Tel Aviv said that Olmert agreed to participate in this task, following contacts with the Palestinian Presidential Office. Last Friday, Olmert published an article in the Israeli Maariv newspaper, in which he said that the US deal “cannot become a basis for resolving the conflict with the Palestinians” and considered it “a mere achievement for Benjamin Netanyahu… that will serve his [electoral] campaign.” “The Trump plan enables Israel to annex the Jordan Valley, the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley area," Olmert said, adding that no Palestinian would support it. Consequently, Abbas and Olmert agreed to hold a press conference in New York, in parallel with a Security Council session, during which President Donald Trump’s chief advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will detail the US plan. The two officials will try to explain that rejecting the Trump plan does not mean rejecting the peace process. They will present a new formula based on the understandings reached in 2008, when Olmert was Prime Minister of Israel. According to information received by Asharq Al-Awsat, Olmert and Abbas renewed ties last year, and began thinking about investing in the understandings they reached and not wasting their historic efforts in vain.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2119781/olmert-abbas-new-york-against-century-deal