PA President Says Ready to Negotiate on Final Status Issues
Arab World
Ramallah - Kifah Zaboun
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he is ready to negotiate the final status issues within a specified timeframe and based on the principle of the international law and the UN resolutions. In a message sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Abbas called for the launch of an international conference for Middle East peace. He indicated that holding such a conference would “pave the way to engage in a serious peace process based on international law, UN resolutions and relevant references.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Palestinian UN Mission in New York were assigned to conduct consultations and coordinate closely with the office of the Secretary-General to achieve this goal. Abbas urged the Sec-Gen to hold urgent consultations in coordination with the Middle East Quartet and the UN Security Council (UNSC) on convening an international conference for Middle East peace with full powers and with the participation of all concerned parties. The Quartet, comprised of the EU, Russia, the US, and the UN was established in 2002 to facilitate the Middle East Peace Process negotiations. The conference “has to lead to an end to the Israeli occupation and help the Palestinian people achieve their freedom and independence within the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders, and resolving all final status issues, particularly the refugees' issue, based on the UNGA Resolution 194,” Abbas was quoted by Wafa news agency. He underscored the importance of launching a peace process to achieve the two-state solution, stressing the need to formulate a multilateral approach to end the conflict through the conference. The majority of the superpowers called for supporting Palestine's proposal presented during Abbas' speech before the UN General Assembly’s session, according to the President. The superpowers called on the Sec-Gen to start preparing at the beginning of next year for an international conference for peace in the Middle East based on international law and UN resolutions in order to resume negotiations based on the adopted international terms of reference. Abbas sent his message to Guterres, after his initiative to launch an international peace conference was supported at the Security Council’s meeting held Monday. The Security Council's approval presents the support Palestinians need to hold an international conference as an alternative to President Donald Trump's so-called “peace plan.” Abbas tried to persuade multiple countries to adopt his position and call for an international peace conference. The Palestinians want to launch an international conference attended by the Quartet and other countries to launch a multilateral mechanism to sponsor negotiations with the Israelis, based on Security Council Resolution 1515, which states that the Palestinian land was occupied in 1967. In August, the PA informed the Quartet of its intention to return to negotiations with the Arab peace plan as a reference. In a letter addressed to the Quartet, the PA reiterated “we are ready to have our state with a limited number of weapons and a powerful police force to uphold law and order.” The PA also indicated that it would accept an international force mandated by the UN to monitor compliance with any eventual peace treaty, hinting at NATO.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2595421/pa-president-says-ready-negotiate-final-status-issues
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